Editing Iran–Iraq War (section)

====Operation Praying Mantis====

[[File:Bild-Prayingmantis5sahand.jpg|thumb|The Iranian frigate [[IRIS Sahand (1969)|IS ''Sahand'']] burns after being hit by 20 U.S. air launched missiles and bombs, killing a third of the crew, April 1988<ref name=Crist>{{cite book|last=Crist|first=David|title=The Twilight War: The secret history of America's thirty-year conflict with Iran|year=2012|publisher=Penguin Press|location=New York|isbn=978-1-59420-341-1|page=434 (Photo plates)}}</ref>]]

The same day as Iraq's attack on al-Faw peninsula, the United States Navy launched [[Operation Praying Mantis]] in retaliation against Iran for damaging a warship with a mine. Iran lost [[oil platform]]s, [[destroyer]]s, and frigates in this battle, which ended only when President Reagan decided that the Iranian navy had been damaged enough. In spite of this, the [[Navy of the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution|Revolutionary Guard Navy]] continued their speedboat attacks against oil tankers.<ref name=pollack04 /> The defeats at al-Faw and in the Persian Gulf nudged Iranian leadership towards quitting the war, especially when facing the prospect of fighting the Americans.<ref name=pollack04 />