Iran (IMNA) - On September 22, 1980, Iraqi forces invaded Iran’s southwestern territories, initiating what Iranians call the Imposed War, triggered shortly after Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Despite repeated attempts by Iran to have Iraq officially recognized as the aggressor, neither the Iraqi regime nor international powers declared Saddam Hussein responsible at the onset. The United Nations Security Council, influenced by the arms-supplying major powers, did not adopt an impartial stance throughout the conflict. Even after Saddam publicly tore up the 1975 Algiers Agreement, the council refrained from assigning blame.
The Iraqi regime justified its invasion by pointing to longstanding border disputes and prior skirmishes, yet experts agree Saddam was motivated by Iran’s post-revolution instability and pressure from hostile Western countries. His ambitions likely included annexing parts of the oil-rich Khuzestan region, home to a significant ethnic Arab population.
It was ultimately UN Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar who, in December 1991, officially named Iraq as the aggressor in his report to the UN, validating Iran’s right to self-defense.
To honor the Sacred Defense Week and the 45th anniversary of the war’s outbreak, Iran’s armed forces hold nationwide parades featuring the Navy, Air Force, Army Ground Forces, Airborne divisions, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and Police forces. These ceremonies commemorate the resilience and sacrifices of the Iranian people during the imposed conflict initiated by Iraq.
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