Editing Iran–Iraq War (section)

==Foreign support to Iraq and Iran==
{{Main|International aid to combatants in the Iran–Iraq War}}

[[File:Shakinghands high.OGG|thumb|thumbtime=05|[[Donald Rumsfeld]] as the American special envoy to the Middle East meets Saddam Hussein in December 1983. Rumsfeld was later [[United States Secretary of Defense|US Defense Secretary]] during the 2003 [[Iraq War]], which saw Saddam ousted from power and ultimately [[execution of Saddam Hussein|executed]].]]

During the war, Iraq was regarded by the West and the Soviet Union as a counterbalance to [[Iranian revolution|post-revolutionary]] Iran.<ref name=bulloch89 />{{rp|119|date=November 2012}} The Soviet Union, Iraq's main arms supplier during the war, did not wish for the end of its alliance with Iraq, and was alarmed by Saddam's threats to find new arms suppliers in the West and China if the [[Kremlin]] did not provide him with the weapons he wanted.<ref name=bulloch89 />{{rp|119, 198–199|date=November 2012}} The Soviet Union hoped to use the threat of reducing arms supplies to Iraq as leverage for forming a Soviet–Iranian alliance.<ref name=bulloch89 />{{rp|197|date=November 2012}}

During the early years of the war, the United States lacked meaningful relations with either Iran or Iraq, the former due to the [[Iranian revolution]] and the [[Iran hostage crisis]] and the latter because of Iraq's alliance with the Soviet Union and hostility towards [[Israel]]. Following Iran's success in repelling the Iraqi invasion and [[Ruhollah Khomeini|Khomeini's]] refusal to end the war in 1982, the United States made an outreach to Iraq, beginning with the restoration of diplomatic relations in 1984. The United States wished to both keep Iran away from Soviet influence and protect other Gulf states from any threat of Iranian expansion. As a result, the U.S. began to provide limited support to Iraq.<ref name=bulloch89 />{{rp|142–143|date=November 2012}} In 1982, [[Henry Kissinger]], former [[United States Secretary of State|Secretary of State]], outlined U.S. policy towards Iran:

<blockquote>The focus of Iranian pressure at this moment is Iraq. There are few governments in the world less deserving of our support and less capable of using it. Had Iraq won the war, the fear in the Gulf and the threat to our interest would be scarcely less than it is today. Still, given the importance of the balance of power in the area, it is in our interests to promote a ceasefire in that conflict; though not a cost that will preclude an eventual rapprochement with Iran either if a more moderate regime replaces Khomeini's or if the present rulers wake up to geopolitical reality that the historic threat to Iran's independence has always come from the country with which it shares a border of {{convert|1500|mi|km|disp=x| [|]}}: the Soviet Union. A rapprochement with Iran, of course, must await at a minimum Iran's abandonment of hegemonic aspirations in the Gulf.<ref name=bulloch89 />{{rp|142–143|date=November 2012}}</blockquote>

[[Richard W. Murphy|Richard Murphy]], Assistant Secretary of State during the war, testified to Congress in 1984 that the Reagan administration believed a victory for either Iran or Iraq was "neither militarily feasible nor strategically desirable".<ref name=bulloch89 />{{rp|178|date=November 2012}}

Support to Iraq was given via technological aid, intelligence, the sale of [[dual-use technology|dual-use]] [[Riegle Report|chemical and biological warfare related technology]] and military equipment, and satellite intelligence. While there was direct combat between Iran and the United States, it is not universally agreed that the fighting between the United States and Iran was specifically to benefit Iraq, or for separate issues between the U.S. and Iran. American official ambiguity towards which side to support was summed up by Henry Kissinger when he remarked, "It's a pity they can't both lose."<ref name="McCarthy">{{cite news|url=http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/292496/it-s-pity-somebody-has-win-andrew-c-mccarthy|title=It's a Pity Somebody Has to Win|last=McCarthy|first=Andrew C.|newspaper=National Review Online|date=3 March 2012|access-date=7 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130330234452/http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/292496/it-s-pity-somebody-has-win-andrew-c-mccarthy|archive-date=30 March 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>

More than 30 countries provided support to Iraq, Iran, or both; most of the aid went to Iraq. Iran had a complex clandestine procurement network to obtain munitions and critical materials. Iraq had an even larger clandestine purchasing network, involving 10–12 allied countries, to maintain ambiguity over their arms purchases and to circumvent "official restrictions". Arab mercenaries and volunteers from Egypt<ref name=rajaee97>{{cite book|editor1-last=Rajaee|editor1-first=Farhang|title=Iranian perspectives on the Iran–Iraq War|year=1997|publisher=University Press of Florida|location=Gainesville|isbn=978-0-8130-1476-0}}</ref> and Jordan formed the [[Yarmouk Brigade (Iran–Iraq War)|Yarmouk Brigade]]<ref>{{cite book|title=An encyclopedic dictionary of conflict and conflict resolution, 1945–1996|first=John E.|last=Jessup|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|year=1998|isbn=978-0-313-28112-9}}</ref> and participated in the war alongside Iraqis.

===Iraq===
{{See also|French support for Iraq during the Iran–Iraq War|Italian support for Iraq during the Iran–Iraq war|British support for Iraq during the Iran–Iraq War}}

[[File:Mi24 tehran.jpg|thumb|right|An Iraqi Mil Mi-24 on display at the military museum of [[Sa'dabad Complex|Sa'dabad Palace]] in Iran]]

According to the Stockholm International Peace Institute, the [[Soviet Union]], France, and China together accounted for over 90% of the value of Iraq's arms imports between 1980 and 1988.<ref>[http://armstrade.sipri.org/armstrade/page/values.php SIPRI Database] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728025517/http://armstrade.sipri.org/armstrade/page/values.php |date=28 July 2011 }} Indicates that of $29,079&nbsp;million of arms exported to Iraq from 1980 to 1988 the Soviet Union accounted for $16,808&nbsp;million, France $4,591&nbsp;million, and China $5,004&nbsp;million (Info must be entered)</ref>

The United States pursued policies in favour of Iraq by reopening diplomatic channels, lifting restrictions on the export of [[dual-use technology]], overseeing the transfer of third-party military hardware, and providing operational intelligence on the battlefield{{Citation needed|date=December 2023|reason=}}. France, which from the 1970s had been one of Iraq's closest allies, was a major supplier of military hardware.<ref name=bulloch89 />{{rp|184–185|date=November 2012}} The French sold weapons equal to $5&nbsp;billion, which made up well over a quarter of Iraq's total arms stockpile.<ref name=bulloch89 />{{rp|184–185|date=November 2012}} Citing French magazine ''Le Nouvel Observateur'' as the primary source, but also quoting French officials, ''The New York Times'' reported [[France]] had been sending chemical precursors of [[chemical weapons]] to Iraq, since 1986.<ref name=NYT>{{cite web|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE3DA153EF932A1575AC0A966958260|title=Confrontation in the Gulf; French Reportedly Sent Iraq Chemical War Tools|date=21 September 1990|first=Youssef M.|last=Ibrahim|website=The New York Times|access-date=1 January 2019|archive-date=13 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200613032632/https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE3DA153EF932A1575AC0A966958260|url-status=live}}</ref> China, which had no direct stake in the victory of either side and whose interests in the war were entirely commercial, freely sold arms to both sides.<ref name=bulloch89 />{{rp|185, 187–188, 192–193|date=November 2012}}

Iraq also made extensive use of [[front organization|front companies]], middlemen, secret ownership of all or part of companies all over the world, forged [[end-user certificate]]s, and other methods to hide what it was acquiring. Some transactions may have involved people, shipping, and manufacturing in as many as 10 countries.<ref name="UNSCOM-D">{{citation|title=UNSCOM's Comprehensive Review|author=United Nations Special Commission|section=Annex D: Actions by Iraq to Obstruct Disarmament|publisher=James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies|url=http://cns.miis.edu/iraq/ucreport/dis_acti.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130103191459/http://cns.miis.edu/iraq/ucreport/dis_acti.htm|archive-date=3 January 2013}}</ref> [[British support for Iraq during the Iran–Iraq war|Support from Great Britain]] exemplified the methods by which Iraq would circumvent export controls. Iraq bought at least one British company with operations in the United Kingdom and the United States, and had a complex relationship with France and the Soviet Union, its major suppliers of actual weapons.

Turkey took action against the Kurds in 1986, alleging they were attacking the [[Kurdistan Workers' Party]] (PKK), which prompted a harsh diplomatic intervention by Iran, which planned a new offensive against Iraq at the time and were counting on the support of Kurdish factions.<ref>Entessar, Nader (1992), p. 134</ref>

Sudan supported Iraq directly during the war, sending a contingent to fight at the frontlines. The Sudanese unit consisted to a large degree of Ugandan refugees from the [[West Nile sub-region|West Nile Region]], recruited by [[Juma Oris]].{{sfn|Leopold|2005|p=44}}

The [[United Nations Security Council]] initially called for a cease-fire after a week of fighting while Iraq was occupying Iranian territory, and renewed the call on later occasions. However, the UN did not come to Iran's aid to repel the Iraqi invasion, and the Iranians thus interpreted the UN as subtly biased in favour of Iraq.<ref name="encarta88" />

====Financial support====
Iraq's main financial backers were the oil-rich Persian Gulf states, most notably [[Saudi Arabia]] ($30.9&nbsp;billion), [[Kuwait]] ($8.2&nbsp;billion), and the [[United Arab Emirates]] ($8&nbsp;billion).{{citation needed|date=February 2023}} In all, Iraq received $35&nbsp;billion in loans from the West and between $30 and $40&nbsp;billion from the Persian Gulf states during the 1980s.<ref name="ISGfunding">{{Cite book|chapter-url=https://www.cia.gov/library/reports/general-reports-1/iraq_wmd_2004/chap2_annxD.html#use-of-illicit-smuggling|title=Comprehensive Report of the Special Advisor to the DCI [Director of Central Intelligence] on Iraq's WMD|date=27 April 2007|volume=1 of 3|chapter=Annex D: Iraq Economic Data (1989–2003)|publisher=Central Intelligence Agency|access-date=3 November 2012|archive-date=1 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121101151425/https://www.cia.gov/library/reports/general-reports-1/iraq_wmd_2004/chap2_annxD.html#use-of-illicit-smuggling|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The [[United States support for Iraq during the Iran–Iraq war#Banca Nazionale del Lavoro|Iraqgate]] scandal revealed that an American branch of Italy's largest bank, [[Banca Nazionale del Lavoro]] (BNL) relied partially on U.S. taxpayer-guaranteed loans to funnel $5&nbsp;billion to Iraq from 1985 to 1989. In August 1989, when [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] agents raided the Atlanta branch of BNL, branch manager Christopher Drogoul was charged with making unauthorised, clandestine, and illegal loans to Iraq—some of which, according to his indictment, were used to purchase arms and weapons technology.<ref name="FAS">{{cite report|title=The Administration's Iraq Gate Scandal|first=William|last=Safire|date=19 May 1992|publisher=Congressional Record|url=https://fas.org/spp/starwars/congress/1992/h920519l.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150620160547/https://fas.org/spp/starwars/congress/1992/h920519l.htm|archive-date=20 June 2015|via=Federation of American Scientists}}</ref> According to the ''[[Financial Times]]'', [[Hewlett-Packard]], [[Tektronix]], and [[Arms-to-Iraq|Matrix Churchill]]'s branch in [[Ohio]] were among the companies shipping militarily useful technology to Iraq under the eye of the U.S. government.

===Iran===
{{See also|Israel's role in the Iran–Iraq war|North Korean support for Iran during the Iran–Iraq War}}
While the United States directly fought Iran, citing [[freedom of navigation]] as a major ''[[casus belli]]'', it also indirectly supplied some weapons to Iran as part of a complex and illegal programme that became known as the [[Iran–Contra affair]]. These secret sales were partly to help secure the release of hostages held in [[Lebanon]], and partly to make money to help the [[Contras]] rebel group in [[Nicaragua]]. This arms-for-hostages agreement turned into a major scandal.

[[Israel]] supported Iran in its war against Iraq through the supply of military equipment including spare parts for fighter jets, missile systems, ammunition and tank engines.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Seale|first=Patrick|date=2 November 1980|title=Israel sends spares for US arms to Iran|page=9|work=The Observer|location=London}}</ref> Israel's motivations for supporting Iran stemmed from a fear of what would have become if Iraq came out victorious and as an opportunity to create business for the Israeli arms industry.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Marshall|first1=Jonathan|url=https://archive.org/details/irancontraconnec00mars|title=The Iran–Contra Connection: Secret Teams and Covert Operations in the Reagan Era|last2=Scott|first2=Peter Dale|last3=Hunter|first3=Jane|date=1987|publisher=Black Rose Books Ltd.|isbn=978-0-921689-15-7}}</ref>

North Korea was a [[North Korean support for Iran during the Iran–Iraq War|major arms supplier to Iran]], often acting as a third party in arms deals between Iran and the Communist bloc. Support included domestically manufactured arms and Eastern-Bloc weapons, for which the major powers wanted [[deniability]]. [[International aid to combatants in the Iran–Iraq War|Among the other arms suppliers and supporters]] of Iran's Islamic Revolution, the major ones were Libya, Syria, and China. According to the Stockholm International Peace Institute, China was the largest foreign arms supplier to Iran between 1980 and 1988.<ref>[http://armstrade.sipri.org/armstrade/page/values.php SIPRI Database] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728025517/http://armstrade.sipri.org/armstrade/page/values.php |date=28 July 2011 }} Indicates that of $5,044&nbsp;million of arms exported to Iran from 1980 to 1988 China count for $1,958&nbsp;million (Info must be entered)</ref>

Syria and Libya, breaking Arab solidarity, supported Iran with arms, rhetoric and diplomacy.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Terrill|first=W. Andrew|title=Iran's Strategy for Saving Asad|date=Spring 2015|journal=[[Middle East Journal]]|publisher=[[Middle East Institute]]|volume=69|issue=2|pages=222–236|doi=10.3751/69.2.13|s2cid=142964464|url-access=}}</ref> However, Libya then distanced itself from Iran from 1987, criticising Tehran's attitude and restoring diplomatic relations with Iraq.<ref name="LeMonde1">{{cite web|url=https://www.lemonde.fr/archives/article/1987/09/12/la-libye-reequilibre-sa-position-au-profit-de-l-irak_4051052_1819218.html|title=La Libye 'rééquilibre' sa position au profit de l'Irak|website=[[Le Monde]]|date=12 September 1987|access-date=11 March 2023|language=French|archive-date=11 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230311223734/https://www.lemonde.fr/archives/article/1987/09/12/la-libye-reequilibre-sa-position-au-profit-de-l-irak_4051052_1819218.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="LeMonde2">{{cite web|url=https://www.lemonde.fr/archives/article/1987/04/25/la-guerre-du-golfe-le-colonel-kadhafi-critique-la-france-et-l-iran_4054912_1819218.html|title=La guerre du Golfe Le colonel Kadhafi critique la France et l'Iran|website=[[Le Monde]]|date=25 April 1987|access-date=11 March 2023|language=French|archive-date=11 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230311223734/https://www.lemonde.fr/archives/article/1987/04/25/la-guerre-du-golfe-le-colonel-kadhafi-critique-la-france-et-l-iran_4054912_1819218.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Aid to both countries===
{{See also|Soviet Union during the Iran-Iraq War|Portugal and the Iran–Iraq War}}
Besides the United States and the Soviet Union, [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]] also sold weapons to both countries for the entire duration of the conflict. Likewise, [[Portugal and the Iran–Iraq War|Portugal helped both countries]];<ref name=csis10 />{{rp|8|date=November 2012}} it was not unusual to see Iranian and Iraqi flagged ships anchored at [[Setúbal]], waiting their turn to dock.

From 1980 to 1987, Spain sold €458&nbsp;million in weapons to Iran and €172&nbsp;million{{clarify|date=November 2012|reason=The euro wasn't introduced until 1999. What year was this conversion done?}} to Iraq. Weapons sold to Iraq included 4x4 vehicles, [[BO-105]] helicopters, explosives, and ammunition. A research party later discovered that an unexploded chemical Iraqi warhead in Iran was manufactured in Spain.<ref name=csis10 />{{rp|8|date=November 2012}}<ref name=elmundo>{{cite book|title=El camino de la libertad: la democracia año a año (1986)|trans-title=The Path of Liberty: Democracy Year to Year|pages=27–32|language=es|publisher=El Mundo}}</ref>

Although neither side acquired any weapons from Turkey, both sides enjoyed Turkish civilian trade during the conflict, although the Turkish government remained neutral and refused to support the U.S.-imposed trade embargo on Iran. Turkey's export market jumped from $220&nbsp;million in 1981 to $2&nbsp;billion in 1985, making up 25% of Turkey's overall exports. Turkish construction projects in Iraq totaled $2.5&nbsp;billion between 1974 and 1990. Trading with both countries helped Turkey to offset its ongoing economic crisis, though the benefits decreased as the war neared its end and accordingly disappeared entirely with Iraq's invasion of Kuwait and the resulting Iraq sanctions Turkey imposed in response.<ref>{{cite book|last=Fuller|first=Graham E.|title=The New Turkish Republic: Turkey as a Pivotal State in the Muslim World|year=2008|publisher=United States Institute of Peace Press|location=Washington, D.C.|isbn=978-1-60127-019-1|author-link=Graham Fuller|pages=40, 49}}</ref>