- In Iran, in 1979, the Iranian revolution took place, known as the Islamic revolution, which saw the overthrow of Shah Pahlavi. He is criticized for being too close to the West, for renouncing Islamic traditions, but also for the hardening of the regime towards opponents. The opposition movement overtakes power, and the dispute crystallizes around Ayatollah Khomeini, who proclaims the Islamic Republic on 1 st April 1979.
- To prevent the Iranian revolution from spreading, the Americans are helping Iraq, which since July 1979 has been ruled by Saddam Hussein. The latter made his country one of the greatest military powers in the Arab world. He imposes his power through the cult of personality. Western countries do not condemn the Iraqi offensive.
September 1980 - August 1988
Characters
Saddam Hussein
Ruhollah Khomeini
Procedure
In September 1980, Iraq invaded Iran. Saddam Hussein wishes to take advantage of the lack of organization linked to the Iranian political context. If the Islamic revolution is one of the essential causes for the outbreak of the conflict, Iraq wishes to seize the Shatt al-Arab, thus allowing maritime access to the invader.
The first Iraqi attacks are a great success, due in particular to air superiority (the Soviets provide the equipment) but Iran refuses the proposal for a ceasefire. In 1982, the Iranian counter-offensives reversed the situation, and brought the front back to the initial borders. The UN Security Council calls for a ceasefire, but the belligerents intensify the fighting:an all-out war is taking place, involving the civilian populations. Iraqi troops use poison gas in February 1988. In April 1988, Iran accepts the end of the conflict, with the opening of negotiations in Geneva. The definitive ceasefire was signed on August 20, 1988.
Consequences
- The conflict results in the death of approximately one million people.
- In Iran, the conflict has direct political consequences. The opponents of Khomeini finally adhere to the new regime:this welding is done within the framework of the fights against the Iraqi forces.
- In the long term, the Iranian Islamic revolution and the war it entails are disrupting the entire Middle East. Arabism (sense of belonging to the Arab ethnic group, which can be transnational, as through the Arab League in particular) is on the decline. Saddam Hussein and the Iranian regime played on the respective antagonisms of Sunnis and Shiites. Iran indeed seeks to assume hegemony in the region, not on Western-inspired modernism (which Syria and Egypt practiced), but through religious nationalism. A phenomenon of re-Islamization is taking place.