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The Iran Iraq War Necessary

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It was in 1980, a massive attack was headed Iran’s way, from its neighboring Middle Eastern country Iraq. This war between the two bordering countries was nothing less than a deadly fight that did not benefit either side more than the other. Costing hundreds of thousands of lives and damages that to this day never be fixed. The question asked by many people still remains the same; was the Iran-Iraq war necessary? The war was arguably the longest and most conventional war in the twentieth century.
Before shots were ever fired the two countries had their dislikes in the past. For starters, Iran as well as Iraq both wanted to claim the Shatt Al-Arab River which was jointly located in between the pair. The Ottoman Empire claimed both sides although the Persian side was not ruled by the Ottomans. Based on the strength of this, Iraq claimed the east bank (Iranian side) of the river, a critical piece of property, since the Shatt al-Arab is its only outlet to the Persian Gulf. Iraq agreed to the share Shatt al-Arab with Iran in a treaty in 1975, which Saddam Hussein claimed was not true in 1980, just before the war commenced. Iraq also claimed many of the disputed islands in the Persian Gulf. Saddam Hussein was to be unwilling to change his mind, lacked military training, was a careless planner, overestimated his troops, and executed generals who retreated.
Iran’s government change is noted to be one of the most striking changes in history. Before leader Ayaollah Ruhollah Khomeini,

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