Iraq Invades Iran; US Tilts Support Toward Saddam Hussein

Iraq launches a full-scale invasion of Iran, starting an eight-year war in which the US secretly backed Saddam Hussein, deepening Iranian mistrust of Washington.

On September 22, 1980, Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein launched a full-scale invasion of Iran, hoping to exploit the chaos of the Islamic Revolution and seize oil-rich border territory. The war would last eight years and kill nearly two million soldiers and civilians on both sides. Although the US officially declared neutrality, it tilted heavily toward Iraq — providing economic aid, intelligence, satellite imagery of Iranian positions, and turning a blind eye to Iraq's use of chemical weapons against Iranian troops and Kurdish civilians. The Reagan administration also removed Iraq from its list of state sponsors of terrorism to allow weapons sales. For Iran, America's role in backing Saddam Hussein during this genocidal conflict became another defining grievance.