The Iran-Iraq War, Mapped

The war that reshaped the Middle East.

The Iran-Iraq War wasn’t just a fight between two rival countries, both wanting the resources and power of the other. This war reshaped the entire middle east, setting up a dynamic that persists to this day: Iran fighting for revolutionary change, Saudi Arabia fighting for the status quo, and both sides fighting through their neighbors and allies, making wars worse and creating instability in their wake.

Special thanks to Suzanne Maloney, Bruce Reidel, Dr. Mohammad Tabaar and Dr. Bryan Gibson.

-- VIDEO CHAPTERS --
00:00 Intro
05:43 From Blitz to Quagmire
08:15 The World Intervenes
12:35 A Global Economic War
13:33 A New Middle East
17:01 Conclusion

Corrections:
17:33 They mistook it as an Iranian F-14. The Shah of Iran intended to buy F-16s, but the order was never completed.
20:42 Bruce Riedel

About:
Johnny Harris is an Emmy-winning independent journalist and contributor to the New York Times. Based in Washington, DC, Harris reports on interesting trends and stories domestically and around the globe, publishing to his audience of over 3.5 million on Youtube. Harris produced and hosted the twice Emmy-nominated series Borders for Vox Media. His visual style blends motion graphics with cinematic videography to create content that explains complex issues in relatable ways.

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[johnchessant]

One important lesson from the Cold War is that the enemy of my enemy is not necessarily my friend. I feel bad for all the civilians that got caught up in this.

[TheMrtennisman]

This war ruined my childhood and made me an immigrant. I remember bomb shelters, sinister air raid sirens, and anti air craft rounds lighting up the night sky. The announcers voice on the radio. The glass windows that we taped Xs accross. The food coupons. Years later, I'm in Phoenix, AZ, swimming in the pool with my older brother and his college buddies. I see a plane, get out of the pool, get my toy gun, and start shooting at the - in my mind - "Iraqi" plane. I now know why my brother's college friends, many of whom were Iranians, started crying with the sight of a six year old me doing that. It left such a bad taste in everyone's mouth that they threw me a fake birthday several days later and got me the coolest gifts I have been given to this day: He-man, Battlecat, Skeletor, Two-headed dragon, She-ra...

[jimmynorton]

My dad was in this war on the Iranian side, he told me about how hard it was to be in the frontline during the extreme heat of summer (45°C or 113°F and sometimes even more) while being short of water supplies.
I pray for peace for all countries even though our region is full of conflict, let's spread more love towards each other and keep hate for war mongering politicians.

[nurustar]

As a kurd myself with parents who lived in kurdistan in northern iraq during this war, thank you so much for talking about this 🤍

[lucid]

Shooting a passenger jet and receiving medal after that is atrocious!

[majidfromiran]

As an Iranian and long-time fan of your channel, I wanted to take a moment to thank you for this insightful video on the Iran-Iraq War. It's a conflict that has had such a profound and lasting impact on the Middle East, and I'm grateful that you've brought attention to it.

I would also encourage you to consider making more videos that focus on Iran and the complex factors that have shaped the country's present situation. As someone with a deep connection to Iran, I believe there is so much more of the story that deserves to be told. Your ability to provide thoughtful, nuanced analysis on geopolitical issues is truly valuable, and I think exploring Iran in greater depth would be incredibly enlightening for your viewers.

Please consider making more content about Iran and the Middle East - it's a region that has had an outsized impact on the world yet is so often misunderstood. Videos like this one are invaluable for fostering greater awareness and understanding.

Thank you again for your work. I look forward to seeing what other topics you tackle in the future... keep up the great work! Looking forward to more enlightening videos from you.

[ent.]

During the attack on halabja my parents and my relatives were there at that moment they barely escaped from that disaster, every night my father gets nightmares about the day when they fled halabja.
At the end as a halabja citizen I appreciate your work and documentary and thank you for mentioning this tragedy.

[khaledraafat]

just to correct you, saddam hussein didnt give up full control of this waterway in 1975 bcs he wasnt even in power that time, he only ruled from 1979 to 2004

[entropie]

After high school in 2000, I joined the Marine Corps. A year later, 9/11 happened. President Bush and his administration really hammered on the WMD and chemical weapons Saddam had and my unit was sent in March 2003 looking for these weapons. We got to Baghdad and didn’t find said weapons and my unit was brought back after only 4 months.

It felt very fishy that I didn’t serve the purpose I was trained for. Another commenter came down on me for joining and being part of this campaign but (1) I never killed a soul on Iraqi soil and (2) I was a dumb kid out of high school looking to serve my country. But after feeling lied to, I left the service after my four years were up and never looked back.

I’ve been looking to learn more about this point in time I was a part of to understand the motives and politics involved. These videos help fill in the gaps to my knowledge of this conflict and I greatly appreciate them.

[fireant]

Noted: chemical warfare is a ok if you’re a US ally!

[placerjr.mejica]

Love this type of content. Very informative

[h.b.]

My family is Christian from Basra and lived there throughout the Iran-Iraq war. It was a very difficult time. My uncles were drafted in the Iraqi army and fought for years. One was injured and saw many of his friends die. He is scarred for life and to this day never talks about it. Basra bore the brunt of the war--the city was targeted heavily by Iranian forces. My aunt was a professor at the University of Basra which was right on the border with Iran and said the Iranians would just shell and bomb them regularly. My family fled Iraq after the US war on Iraq in 1991. After that second war, Basra was impossible to live in because of the destroyed infrastructure of the city.

[amk]

As US politician would say : when it comes to middle east US pretends is like choosing between heart attack and stroke - you don’t want either, but it always chooses both (thanks to weapon manufacturers)

I feel bad for the people.

[NicolasTRANG]

Great content. You make very complex geopolitical issues so easy to understand. You get my Subscribe...

[MrJamesWhitford]

This next level production and coherence. Thanks for your work!

[wowza]

My mom remembers the Iran-Iraq war very well. She lived in the city of Kermanshah, a major Iranian city near the border with Iraq and one of the most damaged cities during the war. And she was only 8 years old when the war started. My mom told me that schools were closed for most of the years. And one time she was walking near an oil field when Iraqi fighter jets started throwing bombs, and one bomb fell on an oil tank and the oil tank exploded, even though my mom had some distance between her and the Oil tank, the sound from the explosion damaged her ear. When I visited Kermanshah with my mom many years later, when we were crossing by that exact oil field, she explained everything. Everyone in Iran who is older than 45 and lived in the western half of Iran has memories about the Iran Iraq war

[seyediranball]

I have 6 veteran uncles and all of them are still suffering from iraqi chemical attacks

[Kurdishkorean]

As a Kurd I went through several of these wars including the 1996 civil war, and after 13 years of displacement we fled and took a refugee boat to Australia :(

[user_SaraAlSaray]

I am from Iraq and I live in Maysan Governorate, and this city is close to the borders of Iran. My mother and father used to say that the missiles of war were falling in front of them and many of the residents of these areas were killed. Also, during that period, hunger prevailed in the country. These were bitter days for the Iraqi people, and in this war my grandfather was martyred, as was my uncle. He died as a result of a bomb. It was a useless war. There were losses on both sides. Zaki from the fire lost their loved ones

[robertwilliam]

I am a Iraqi child of this war and is so sad for what happened to people from both sides, my cousin was killed in the infamous Al-Faw battle 1986 (not mentioned here), my brother served 3 years and survived, my father all 8 and survived (died 2004 from heart attack).
Despite all that there are stories where soldiers saved the lives of soldiers from the other side, those are also true heroes imo.
Coming from a Christian family Iraq ain't safe still for us, but that's on politicians not on people, I love the country and all my childhood friends.