MILNET: Conflicts - Iran-Iraq

After a number of years of internal fighting between the Iraqi government and local Kurdish rebels, Iraq attacked via aircraft a Kurdish village in Iran This began years of dispute fueled by a raging argument over the Shatt al-arab waterway, and which eventually led to the beginning of the Iraq-Iran war on September 22, 1980. The war escalated quickly as both sides began attacking military and commercial airports.  The war spread to the Persian Gulf in 1984. This led to U.S., Britain, and France escorting oil tankers in and out of the Gulf starting in July of 1987. Kuwati oil tankers were re-flagged as U.S. tankers for the purpose of eliciting this protection. This particular Gulf crisis became critical as Iranian gunboats and hovercraft harrased and on occasion fired upon U.S. warships.

On May 17th, 1987, an Iraqi fighter launched an Exocet missile, striking the U.S.S. Stark, killing 37 U.S. sailors and seriously damaging the U.S. Navy frigate. Iraq claimed it was a case of mistaken identity.

With heightened tensions in the Gulf, the U.S.S. attempted, for the most part successfully to stay out of the battle. But as Iranian naval harrassment turned to active gunfire, the U.S. warships began to return fire and eventually retaliated with attacks on Iranian oil platforms in the Gulf. Then on July 3, 1988, the U.S.S. Vincennes, minutes after coming under attack from an Iranian gunbaot, mistook an Iranian airliner as an attacking aircraft, and shot it down, killing all 290 aboard.

A U.N. cease-fire proposal (July 1988) was finally accepted by both sides, and the war came to a griding halt.

In a strange turn of events, in August of 1990, Iraq invaded another neighbor, Kuwait, and when Iraq refused to withdraw, U.S. forces leading a 27 nation coalition, began an airwar on January 17th, 1991. 1 week into the war, Iraqi's best and most expensive aircraft fled to Iran for "safety". Iran then began to attempt cease-fire talks acting as a "friend" of Iraq as the moderator. See also the The Gulf War

Iraq was rather thoroughly trounced in the very short war, and under U.N. resolutions we required to destroy weapons of mass destruction, comply with a no-fly zone as proscribed by the coalition forces in order to protect Kurdish refugees and to ensure response time should Iraqi ever again make efforts to invade Kuwait.

Several years of testing provided coaltion opportunities to remind Saddam Hussein to curb his military adventures, with the lastest being in September of 1996 when the U.S. Launched Operation Desert Strike, in order to further extend the No Fly Zone to protect the Kurds in Northern Iraq and partially in response to an attack by Iraqi military against helpless refugee camps and the town of Irabli.

The conflict between Iraq and Iran continues tthrough 1997, as Iraq and Iran exchanged a little air-to-air action, however the activity was short lived as both sides fled from U.S. aircraft enforcing the no-fly zone over Iraq. The U.S. made clear statements to the Iranian government about crusing around in the no fly zone, since U.S. aircraft are missioned with permitting NO flights, regardless of which country. In fact U.N. aircraft are very careful to check in with no fly zone operators before taking to the air, and there has been at least one event where U.N. helicopters were shot down by no fly zone enforcement aircraft.