Editing Iran–Iraq War (section)

====Attacks on shipping====
{{Main|Tanker war}}
{{Further|Operation Earnest Will|Operation Prime Chance}}

[[File:USS Hawes (FFG-53), USS William H. Standley (CG-32) and USS Guadalcanal (LPH-7) escort tanker Gas King in the Persian Gullf on 21 October 1987 (LPH-7) (6432283).jpg|thumb|[[Operation Earnest Will]]: Tanker convoy No. 12 under [[United States Navy|US Navy]] escort (21 October 1987)]]

The so-called ''tanker war'' started when Iraq attacked the oil terminal and oil tankers at [[Kharg Island]] in early 1984. Iraq's aim in attacking Iranian shipping was to provoke the Iranians to retaliate with extreme measures, such as closing the [[Strait of Hormuz]] to all maritime traffic, thereby bringing American intervention; the United States had threatened several times to intervene if the Strait of Hormuz were closed. As a result, the Iranians limited their retaliatory attacks to Iraqi shipping, leaving the strait open to general passage.<ref name=efraimkarsh />

Iraq declared that all ships going to or from Iranian ports in the northern zone of the Persian Gulf were subject to attack. They used F-1 Mirage, Super Etendard, Mig-23, Su-20/22, and Super Frelon helicopters armed with [[Exocet]] anti-ship missiles as well as Soviet-made air-to-surface missiles to enforce their threats. Iraq repeatedly bombed Iran's main oil export facility on Kharg Island, causing increasingly heavy damage. As a first response to these attacks, Iran attacked a Kuwaiti tanker carrying Iraqi oil near [[Bahrain]] on 13 May 1984, as well as a Saudi tanker in Saudi waters on 16 May.<ref name=efraimkarsh />

Because Iraq had become landlocked during the course of the war, they had to rely on their Arab allies, primarily Kuwait, to transport their oil. Iran attacked tankers carrying Iraqi oil from Kuwait, later attacking tankers from any Persian Gulf state supporting Iraq. Attacks on ships of noncombatant nations in the Persian Gulf sharply increased thereafter, with both nations attacking oil tankers and merchant ships of neutral nations in an effort to deprive their opponent of trade. The Iranian attacks against Saudi shipping led to Saudi F-15s shooting down a pair of F-4 Phantom II fighters on [[Action of 5 June 1984|5 June 1984]].<ref name=efraimkarsh />

The air and small-boat attacks did little damage to Persian Gulf state economies, and Iran moved its shipping port to [[Larak Island]] in the Strait of Hormuz.<ref name="Dugdale2002">{{cite web|first=T.D.P.|last=Dugdale-Pointon|date=27 October 2002|title=Tanker War 1984–1988|url=http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/wars_tanker.html|access-date=17 January 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100124124829/http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/wars_tanker.html|archive-date=24 January 2010|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Iranian Navy imposed a naval blockade of Iraq, using its British-built [[frigate]]s to stop and inspect any ships thought to be trading with Iraq. They operated with virtual impunity, as Iraqi pilots had little training in hitting naval targets. Some Iranian warships attacked tankers with ship-to-ship missiles, while others used their radars to guide land-based [[anti-ship missile]]s to their targets.<ref>{{cite video|title=Wars in Peace: Iran–Iraq War|medium=film documentary|year=1995|series=Wars in Peace|url=https://archive.org/details/warsinpeace-iraniraqwar|access-date=14 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160401031702/https://archive.org/details/warsinpeace-iraniraqwar|archive-date=1 April 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> Iran began to rely on its new [[IRGC Navy|Revolutionary Guard's navy]], which used [[Boghammar]] speedboats fitted with rocket launchers and heavy machine guns. These speedboats would launch surprise attacks against tankers and cause substantial damage. Iran also used F-4 Phantom II fighters and helicopters to launch [[AGM-65 Maverick|Maverick missiles]] and unguided rockets at tankers.<ref name="Farrokh 03" />

A [[United States Navy|U.S. Navy]] ship, {{USS|Stark|FFG-31|2}}, was struck on 17 May 1987 by two Exocet anti-ship missiles fired from an Iraqi [[F-1 Mirage]] plane.<ref>{{cite report|url=http://www.jag.navy.mil/library/investigations/USS%20STARK%20BASIC.pdf|date=3 September 1987|title=Formal Investigation into the Circumstances Surrounding the Attack on the USS Stark (FFG 31) on 17 May 1987|publisher=U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General's Corps|series=JAG Manual Investigations|access-date=13 July 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110501033851/http://www.jag.navy.mil/library/investigations/USS%20STARK%20BASIC.pdf|archive-date=1 May 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Pokrant|first=Marvin|title=Desert Storm at Sea: What the Navy Really Did|year=1999|publisher=Greenwood Press|location=Westport, CT|isbn=978-0-313-31024-9|page=[https://archive.org/details/desertstormatsea00pokr/page/43 43]|url=https://archive.org/details/desertstormatsea00pokr/page/43}}</ref> The missiles had been fired at about the time the plane was given a routine radio warning by ''Stark''.<ref name=kelley07>{{cite thesis|title=Better Lucky Than Good: Operation Earnest Will as Gunboat Diplomacy|last=Kelley|first=Stephen Andrew|date=June 2007|location=Monterrey, CA|publisher=[[Naval Postgraduate School]]|url=https://archive.org/details/betterluckythgoo109453463/page/n1|degree=Master's|hdl=10945/3463|hdl-access=free}}</ref> The frigate did not detect the missiles with radar, and warning was given by the lookout only moments before they struck.<ref name="DoD_report">{{cite report|title=Formal Investigation into the Circumstances Surrounding the Attack of the USS Stark in 1987|url=http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/operation_and_plans/USS_Liberty_Pueblo_Stark/65rev.pdf|publisher=Office of the Secretary of Defense and Joint Staff|series=OSD/JS FOIA Library|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130210220555/http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/operation_and_plans/USS_Liberty_Pueblo_Stark/65rev.pdf|archive-date=10 February 2013}}</ref> Both missiles hit the ship, and one exploded in crew quarters, killing 37 sailors and wounding 21.<ref name="DoD_report" />

[[Lloyd's of London]], a British insurance market, estimated that the tanker war damaged 546 commercial vessels and killed about 430 civilian sailors. The largest portion of the attacks was directed by Iraq against vessels in Iranian waters, with the Iraqis launching three times as many attacks as the Iranians.<ref name=iranchamber-iraniraqwar />{{rp|3|date=November 2012}} But Iranian speedboat attacks on Kuwaiti shipping led Kuwait to formally petition foreign powers on 1 November 1986 to protect its shipping. The Soviet Union agreed to charter tankers starting in 1987, and the United States Navy offered to provide protection for foreign tankers reflagged and [[flag of convenience|flying the U.S. flag]] starting 7 March 1987 in [[Operation Earnest Will]].<ref name=efraimkarsh /><ref name=kelley07 /> Neutral tankers shipping to Iran were not protected by Earnest Will, resulting in reduced foreign tanker traffic to Iran, since they risked Iraqi air attack. Iran accused the United States of helping Iraq.<ref name="Farrokh 03" /><ref name=iranchamber-armingiraq /><ref name=iranchamber-iraniraqwar />

During the course of the war, Iran attacked two Soviet merchant ships.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://reference.allrefer.com/country-guide-study/iran/iran172.html|title=Iran: Gradual Superpower Involvement|publisher=AllRefer|access-date=2 August 2011|work=Country Study & Guide|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628195103/http://reference.allrefer.com/country-guide-study/iran/iran172.html|archive-date=28 June 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>

''[[Seawise Giant]]'', the largest ship ever built, was struck by Iraqi Exocet missiles as it was carrying Iranian crude oil out of the Persian Gulf.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.relevantsearchscotland.co.uk/ships/jahre.html|title=Seawise Giant|last=Ross|first=William|access-date=2 August 2011|work=Relevant Search Scotland|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110809115952/http://www.relevantsearchscotland.co.uk/ships/jahre.html|archive-date=9 August 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>