Iran-Iraq War. Long-standing territorial disputes and political unrest in Iran pushed Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to invade Iran’s oil-rich province of Khuzestan. After an initial advance, the Iraqi offensive was repelled. In 1982, Iraq voluntarily withdrew and sought a peace agreement, but Ayatollah Komehini renewed the fighting: stalemates ensued and thousands of Iranian conscripts died in Iraq. Residential areas in both countries were bombed, and Iraq resorted to chemical weapons. Meanwhile, in the Persian Gulf, the “tanker war” reduced exports and increased oil prices. In 1988, Iran agreed to a ceasefire.
