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The Iran-Iraq War

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Conflict and Cooperation in the Gulf Region

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Abstract

The Iran-Iraq War was triggered by changes to the status quo in the region caused, in large part, by Khomeini’s Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1978–79. However, the reasons for war were subtle and complex, and included a variety of components. Iran and Iraq also had a longstanding history of conflict that can be traced back to the creation of the modern nation of Iraq — by European powers — following World War I. The historical legacy of conflict between the powerful ethnic, tribal, and religious groups in the two regions is centuries old. The original Arab-Islamic conquest of the Persian Sassanid Empire in 638 at Qadisiyya and the subsequent Sunni-Shi’i division of the Muslim community of believers (or ’umma) in 680 are two relevant examples that extend back to the 7th century of the modern era. However, the Iran-Iraq War was most directly a product of an immediate conflict that emerged when the regional goals and ambitions of Ayatollah Khomeini and Saddam Hussein clashed.

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(2009). The Iran-Iraq War. In: Conflict and Cooperation in the Gulf Region. VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-531-91337-7_2

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