Khomeini and Saddam in 1979: How Two Leaders Set Iran and Iraq on a Path to War

Khomeini and Saddam in 1979: How Two Leaders Set Iran and Iraq on a Path to War On September 22, 1980, Iraqi aircraft struck Iranian airfields while Iraqi troops crossed the border on the ground. Saddam Hussein's officers expected a campaign of a few weeks. It became a war of almost eight years. This documentary traces the road to that morning: the fall of the Shah in January 1979, Ayatollah Khomeini's return to Tehran on February 1, Saddam Hussein taking the presidency of Iraq on July 16, 1979, and the border dispute over the Shatt al-Arab waterway. We look at what each government believed about the other, how those beliefs were tested on the battlefield and in foreign capitals, and why historians still disagree about the human cost. Every major decision in this war began with a judgment about an enemy. Watch for the moments when those judgments were put to the test. SOURCES: Efraim Karsh, The Iran-Iraq War 1980-1988 (Osprey Publishing, 2002) Williamson Murray and Kevin Woods, The Iran-Iraq War: A Military and Strategic History (Cambridge University Press, 2014) Pierre Razoux, The Iran-Iraq War (Harvard University Press, 2015) Algiers Agreement between Iran and Iraq (1975), United Nations Treaty Series United Nations Security Council Resolution 598 (1987) #IranIraqWar #WarDocumentary #MilitaryHistory #MiddleEastHistory #SaddamHussein #Khomeini #ColdWarHistory #HistoryDocumentary #IranianRevolution #WarHistory ---------------- Thank you for watching as we explore the campaigns, battles, commanders, and decisions that shaped World War II. 🎖️ Through maps, timelines, historical records, and clear storytelling, we reconstruct the major operations fought across Europe, Africa, and the Pacific. 👍 Like the video 💬 Share your thoughts 📤 Share with another history enthusiast 🔔 Subscribe for more WWII campaign documentaries 🔗 Subscribe here:    / @wwiicampaignchronicles   Thank you for supporting WWII Campaign Chronicles. #WWIIHistory #WW2Documentary #MilitaryHistory #WarHistory #WW2