On 22 September 1980, Iraq invaded Iran to take over as the primary state in the Persian Gulf region. This came a year after the Iranian Revolution ended in 1979. Tensions between the two countries had often come to rise as there were often border disputes over oil-rich land. The invasion had begun when Iraq decided they were going to attempt to take advantage of the post-revolution unrest. This was later met with fast response by the Iranian government.
The Iraq-Iran war lasted for eight years before it was later ended by a ceasefire agreement chartered by the United Nations. This war was met with vast amounts of exception due to the questionable tactics used by both sides. This ranged from chemical warfare, attacks targeted on civilians, and the use of child soldiers. Throughout this time, the United States were keeping a close eye on the unrest due to the ongoing tension between the United States and Iranian militaries. Among these tensions, there were various other countries involved in the conflict. The United States, Britain, the Soviet Union and various other middle east countries all sided with Iraq and provided support both strategically, monetarily, and politically. This essentially left Iran to their own devices, isolated from support from any major country.
The war ended with 500,000 deaths of soldiers, 95,000 being child soldiers, of both Iranian and Iraqi descent while also reporting at least 100,000 civilian deaths from Iran and Iraq each. The Iran-Iraq war has often been compared to the likes of World War I due to the style of warfare. In the end, there was no clear solution resulting in none of the border disputes being settled and no justice being decided upon. This war had major implications upon the lives of the civilians in both countries. Left to live in a war-torn country with their lives destroyed from both the lives of family members being lost and also from having the cities they called home turned to rubble. The war went back and forth for years, leaving both countries in a state of economic despair.