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The Outbreak of the Iran-Iraq War, An Outline

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In the fall of 1980, one of the largest and most destructive conflicts to occur since the end of the second world war started between the states of Iran and Iraq. Lasting eight years, the war left approximately 1.5 million dead and around a million casualties with thousands of refugees fleeing both nations.
• Cost up to $1,000,000,000 monthly
• Total cost to date may exceed $300,000,000,000
• (Swearingen, 1988)

Using three levels of analysis - the individual, domestic and systemic - the causes of the conflict will be analysed and prove the aforementioned hypothesis.

VARIABLES:
• Geopolitical:
1. Some contend the it was about 105 km. long Shatt al-Arab boundary (not definitive) others say it was only a pre-text for escalating hostilities
2. Structural changes in the Middle East Establish a Pax Arabia with Iraq as the dominant regional power in the Middle East


ORIGINS/CAUSES:
• Some contend the it was about 105 km. long Shatt al-Arab boundary. 5 pieces of info support this:
1. Iraq and Iran's predecessors have been fighting for centuries over the Shatt al-Arab waterway
2. The most recent boundary treaty signed in 1975 was a source of deep humiliation for Iraq --> forced to accept the treaty because the Iranians supported Kurdish revolts that threatened to tear apart Iraq and possibly deprive it of it's greatest oil producing region. In exchange for Iranian support in ending the revolt, Iraq gave up a large part of the vital waterway.

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