Iran–Iraq War Begins · Aghaz-e Jang

Culture of origin: Iranian · Historical

Holiday sources: Iran · Iranian Arab

Saddam Hussein's Iraq invaded Iran in September 1980, aiming among other things to retake the eastern bank of the Shatt al-Arab ceded in 1975. The invasion stalled by December 1980, and Iran had recaptured its territory by June 1982, then carried the war into Iraq. The war, marked by trench warfare and Iraqi chemical attacks on civilians, ended in a UN-brokered ceasefire in August 1988 with no border changes, after around 500,000 deaths.