The Iran-Iraq war, that killed over a million people, is imbedded in history as “the bloody war with no winner”. It has been 34 years since the end of the 8-year war between Iran and Iraq, which started with long-standing border conflicts, interference in internal affairs and Iran’s claims of exporting the revolution. The effects of the war still continue in Iraq led by Saddam Hussein and Iran led by Ayatollah Khomeini. The war, which went down in history, is considered as the most important event in modern history.
Iran commemorates the war within the “Holy Defense” week on September 21-28 every year. They renew this 8-year war with Iraq in their memories with military parades and demonstrations. The “Holy Defense Museum” in Tehran, in which the remnants of the war are displayed, aims to show the traces of the war to the young Iranians who have not seen the war, and to keep the effects of the war alive in their memories.
Makeba Abadi, The Head of the International Relations Unit of Iran’s Holy Defense Museum, stated that the military and political situation of the country was not good after the Islamic Revolution in Iran and that Iraq invaded Iran in such an environment, “There was a large purge in the army. We were not in a good position in terms of defending our country in the invasion of Iraq. Saddam Hussein attacked our country with the provocation of the great powers. We also had to go on the defensive to protect our country from this attack. We did not start the war; we just defended our country’s borders against the invasion. That’s why the name of the war is called ‘Holy Defense’ for us,”
Two Iranian siblings, Mitra and Yelda Azami, who are only 17 and 19 years old, said, “We were not there during the war. But we listened to the memories of our family elders about the war period. They would tell us that it was a very difficult and stressful period. The southern cities of our country were more affected by this war. Its effects are still in those regions. It continues. If the war had not broken out, the southern cities of our country would maybe have been more prosperous and in a better situation.”
Underlining that the Iraq-Iran war lasted longer than the 2nd World War in the 20th century, Researcher and Author Dr. Nureddin Mosullu said “This war was more of a sectarian war. The Iraq-Iran War lasted for 8 years, and during these 8 years, people had bad days in both Iraq and Iran. This war was not a war of liberation or defense of the homeland. It was more of a sectarian war.”
Journalist Writer Nazım Saig, on the other hand, stated that the Iraq-Iran War was caused by the border dispute between the two countries and said, “There were problems at the borders of Shatt al-Arab. These issues are still not resolved. Iran says Persian Gulf and Iraq says Arabian Gulf. The problems between the two countries started to grow. There were clashes at the borders from time to time. This was the beginning of a war. Later, Saddam’s administration canceled the Algeria Agreement signed with Iran in 1975. So, the war with Iran, which does not accept this, has begun.”