Operation Badr (1985)
Operation Badr was an Iranian operation conducted during the Iran–Iraq War against the forces of Ba'athist Iraq. The Iranians launched their offensive on March 10 and succeeded in capturing a part of the Basra-Amarah-Baghdad highway. The following Iraqi counterattack, however, forced the Iranians out in a continual war of endless stalemate. Prelude After its failure to capture Basra in 1982, Iran launched Operation Kheibar in 1984 to capture the Baghdad-Basra highway. This resulted in the Battle of the Marshes, and the operation failed, but Iran planned for Operation Badr in a further attempt to capture it. Without coincidence, the operation was named after the Prophet Mohammed's first military victory in Mecca centuries before. The aim of the offensive was focused on capturing the Baghdad-Basra highway, which was a vital link between the two major cities, and for the movement of military supplies and vehicles to support and replenish the Iraqi defenders at the front-line. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Iran–Iraq War
The Iran–Iraq War, also known as the First Gulf War, was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. Active hostilities began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for nearly eight years, until the acceptance of United Nations Security Council Resolution 598 by both sides. Iraq's primary rationale for the attack against Iran cited the need to prevent Ruhollah Khomeini—who had spearheaded the Iranian revolution in 1979—from exporting the new Iranian ideology to Iraq. There were also fears among the Iraqi leadership of Saddam Hussein that Iran, a theocratic state with a population predominantly composed of Shia Muslims, would exploit sectarian tensions in Iraq by rallying Iraq's Shia majority against the Baʽathist government, which was officially secular but dominated by Sunni Muslims. Iraq also wished to replace Iran as the power player in the Persian Gulf, which was not seen as an achievable objective prior to the Is ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Pontoon Bridge
A pontoon bridge (or ponton bridge), also known as a floating bridge, is a bridge that uses float (nautical), floats or shallow-draft (hull), draft boats to support a continuous deck for pedestrian and vehicle travel. The buoyancy of the supports limits the maximum load that they can carry. Most pontoon bridges are temporary and used in wartime and civil emergencies. There are permanent pontoon bridges in civilian use that can carry highway traffic; generally, the relatively high potential for collapse and sinking (e.g. due to waves and collisions) and high continuous maintenance costs makes pontoons unattractive for most civilian construction. Permanent floating bridges are useful for sheltered water crossings if it is not considered economically feasible to suspend a bridge from anchored Pier (architecture), piers (such as in deep water). Such bridges can require a section that is elevated or can be raised or removed to allow waterborne traffic to pass. Notable permanent pontoo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Isfahan
Isfahan or Esfahan ( ) is a city in the Central District (Isfahan County), Central District of Isfahan County, Isfahan province, Iran. It is the capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is located south of Tehran. The city has a population of approximately 2,220,000, making it the third-most populous city in Iran, after Tehran and Mashhad, and the second-largest metropolitan area. Isfahan is located at the intersection of the two principal routes that traverse Iran, north–south and east–west. Isfahan flourished between the 9th and 18th centuries. Under the Safavid Iran, Safavid Empire, Isfahan became the capital of Iran, for the second time in its history, under Abbas the Great. It is known for its Persian architecture, Persian–Islamic architecture, Muslim architecture, grand boulevards, covered bridges, palaces, tiled mosques, and minarets. Isfahan also has many historical buildings, monuments, paintings, and artifacts. The fame of Isfahan led to the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tabun (nerve Agent)
Tabun (military designation GA) is an extremely toxic compound of the organophosphate family. It is not present in nature. At room temperature, the pure compound is a clear and viscous liquid. However, impurities imparted during its manufacture are almost always present, turning it into a yellow or brown liquid. Exposed to environs, it slowly volatizes into the atmosphere, with the vapor having a slight fruity or almond-like odor. As the compound has a much higher molecular mass (162 g/mol) compared to air, Tabun gas tends to accumulate in low-lying areas. It is a potent inhibitor of acetylcholinesterase, a key enzyme within the human body as well as in other animals. Acetylcholinesterase is responsible for breaking down acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter released into the synaptic cleft by motor neurons. The presence of acetylcholine within the cleft signals the post-synaptic (downstream) motor neuron to contract the neuron's associated muscle fibers, and vice versa. By irreversibl ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Iraqi Chemical Attacks Against Iran
During the Iran–Iraq War (1980–1988), Ba'athist Iraq, Iraq engaged in chemical warfare against Iran on multiple occasions, including more than 30 targeted attacks on Iranian civilians. Iran employed its own chemical warfare against Iraq on a few occasions during the war as well. The Iraqi chemical weapons program, which had been active since the 1970s, was aimed at regulated offensive use, as evidenced in the chemical attacks against Kurds in Iraq, Iraqi Kurds as part of the Anfal campaign in the late 1980s. The Iraqis had also utilized chemical weapons against Iranian hospitals and medical centres. According to a 2002 article in the American newspaper ''The Star-Ledger'', 20,000 Iranian soldiers and combat medics were killed on the spot by Nerve agent, nerve gas. As of 2002, 5,000 of the 80,000 survivors continue to seek regular medical treatment, while 1,000 are hospital inpatients.Center for Documents of The Imposed War, Tehran. (مرکز مطالعات و تحقیقات ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Republican Guard (Iraq)
The Iraqi Republican Guard () was a branch of the Iraqi military from 1969 to 2003, which existed primarily during the presidency of Saddam Hussein. Initially a praetorian guard unit tasked with the sole purpose to protect the president of Iraq, it grew exponentially during the Iran-Iraq War, transforming into an elite force of the Iraqi Armed Forces. It later became known as the ''Republican Guard Corps'', and then the ''Republican Guard Forces Command'' (''RGFC'') with its expansion into two corps. The Republican Guard was disbanded in 2003 after the invasion of Iraq by a U.S.-led international coalition. The Republican Guard were the elite troops of the Iraqi army directly reporting to Hussein, unlike the paramilitary force Fedayeen Saddam, and the regular Iraqi Army. They were better trained, disciplined, equipped, and had higher salaries than ordinary Iraqi soldiers, receiving bonuses, new cars, and subsidized housing. Formation Formed in 1969, it was originally cr ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tigris River
The Tigris ( ; see below) is the eastern of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of the Armenian Highlands through the Syrian and Arabian Deserts, before merging with the Euphrates and reaching to the Persian Gulf. The Tigris passes through historical cities like Mosul, Tikrit, Samarra, and Baghdad. It is also home to archaeological sites and ancient religious communities, including the Mandaeans, who use it for baptism. In ancient times, the Tigris nurtured the Assyrian Empire, with remnants like the relief of King Tiglath-Pileser. Today, the Tigris faces modern threats from geopolitical instability, dam projects, poor water management, and climate change, leading to concerns about its sustainability. Efforts to protect and preserve the river's legacy are ongoing, with local archaeologists and activists working to safeguard its future. Etymology The Ancient Greek form () is an alternativ ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Majnoon Island
Majnoon Island is an island in southern Iraq near Al-Qurnah that is a center for oil production of the Majnoon Oilfield. The area was built out of sand dunes and mud to create pathways for oil pipelines. It was the site of several large battles in the Iran-Iraq war. The Majnoon Oilfield was discovered in 1975 by Braspetro (Petrobras of Brazil), Majnoon was found to be a part of Great Rumaila Triangle. Development work stopped in 1980 when Iraq's war with Iran broke out. Iran controlled the oilfield during the war, and it along with the other parts of Iraq, were looted and sabotaged. Before the Gulf War, roughly a sixth of Iraq's oil production, some , passed through the island. Production quickly recovered after the site was a center of fighting in the Iran–Iraq War, particularly Operation Kheibar in 1984. However, following the imposition of United Nations sanctions and the 2003 Iraq War, production has presently reduced to . In December 2009, the Iraqi government award ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Al Basrah
Basra () is a port city in southern Iraq. It is the capital of the eponymous Basra Governorate, as well as the third largest city in Iraq overall, behind Baghdad and Mosul. Located near the Iran–Iraq border at the north-easternmost extent of the Arabian Peninsula, the city is situated along the banks of the Shatt al-Arab that empties into the Persian Gulf. It is consistently one of the hottest cities in Iraq, with summer temperatures regularly exceeding . Built in 636 as a military camp, Basra played an important role as a regional hub of knowledge, trade and commerce during the Islamic Golden Age and is home to the first mosque built outside the Arabian Peninsula. It was a center of the slave trade in Mesopotamia, until the Zanj rebellion in 871. Historically, Basra is one of the ports from which the fictional Sinbad the Sailor embarked on his journeys. It has experienced numerous ruling shifts. In 1258, the city was sacked by the Mongols. Basra came under Portuguese contr ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Operation Staunch
Operation Staunch was launched in the spring of 1983 by the United States State Department to stop the flow of U.S. arms to Iran. Background The Iranian Islamic Revolution in 1979 and the hostage crisis in Tehran frustrated American policymakers whose response came as an embargo on the new government of Iran. On January 20, 1981, the day Ronald Reagan was inaugurated, the hostages in Tehran were released. In turn, the embargo was relaxed, but relations with Iran did not improve diplomatically. In fact, the newly elected Reagan refused to sell arms directly to Iran. Even so, arms manufactured in the US that were sold to foreign nations continued to find their way to the Iranian military arsenal. The Iran–Iraq War raised the demand for arms and "created opportunities that arms merchants around the world simply could not afford to miss. Indeed, the lure of windfall profits was so great that few countries had any scruples about selling weapons to Iran or Iraq—or both at the same t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |