Great insight few.
You did forget to mention the actual excuse Saddam gave for the iraqi attack on 1980. Namely these were.
1- Khomeini openly supporting shia islamists in Iraq to kill and overthrow Saddam (bombing of mustansiriya university in April 1980 which wounded tariq aziz amongst other attacks by iranian financed groups).
2- regaining both sides of shat al Arab which iraq signed away in 1975 under duress (shah was funding and arming kurdish rebels.jn northern iraq and soviets cut off supplies in concert).
3-iranian artillery and air strikes into iraqi towns and villages starting in August 1980. Iraq justified the Later attack by saying they wanted to create a buffer zone to protect iraqi towns and settlements along the border from pre meditated iranian bombardment.
Secondary considerations included iranian exiles wishing to return to power, gulf monarchies fearing shia uprisings etc… But the primary considerations were the three above I mention. The fact that nearly 40 years after the war started this fact is still unknown to most people is breathtaking. But I suppose iraqi perspectives are so very rarely known about anything.
With regards to the air war. The war started massively lopsided in irans favour due to.
1- having over 300 bvr capable long range fighters. Vs Iraq having zero bvr capable fighters
2- iraq and 90% of its strategic targets being within easy reach of all iranian aircraft. But most of Iran being beyond the reach of the iraqi airforce (and the 20 tupolev bombers would be too vulnerable to use due to hundreds of iranian bvr fighters to intercept them)
3- both iraq and irans military was being purged at the time. In Iraq hundreds of air force officers and pilots were killed arrested or discharged due to loyalty to either shia parties or the communist party.
4- at the outset of the war both sides had weapons shipments halted by suppliers.
Despite the massive geographical, numerical and technological advantage Iran did not make effective use of its advantage at the beginning of the war. The internal turmoil the had was worse than in Iraq hence the lack of organisation.
Iraq due to its massive geographical and technological inferiority at the beginning of the war was quite defensive with only fleeting attacks Deep into Iran. It was only in about 1986 that Iraq had built a sort of technological parity with Iran in the air. And the remaining two years iraqi airforce could attack and assert itself a bit more… However irans massive territorial advantage remained and could not be surmounted by iraq at all.
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