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101-638: In 1985, during the Iran–Iraq War , Colonel Doug Matthews ( Michael Dudikoff ), is a U.S. Marine hired to help train Iraqi troops to fight off the Iranians. He arrives somewhere in the northern part of Iraq only to discover that stormtroopers are killing people in the nearby village. Doug disagrees with this and attacks Dallai, the leader of the Iraqi troops, but loses. Five years later, in August, at Baghdad Airport,

202-705: A Pan-Islamic force, in contrast to Iraq's Arab nationalism . Despite Iraq's goal of regaining the Shatt al-Arab , the Iraqi government initially seemed to welcome the Iranian Revolution , which overthrew Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi , who was seen as a common enemy. There were frequent clashes along the Iran–Iraq border throughout 1980, with Iraq publicly complaining of at least 544 incidents and Iran citing at least 797 violations of its border and airspace. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini called on Iraqis to overthrow

303-586: A ceasefire brokered by the United Nations Security Council . In total, around 500,000 people were killed during the Iran–Iraq War, with Iran bearing the larger share of the casualties, excluding the tens of thousands of civilians killed in the concurrent Anfal campaign that targeted Iraqi Kurdistan . The end of the conflict resulted in neither reparations nor border changes, and the combined financial losses suffered by both combatants

404-678: A grand palace known as Apadana there in 521 BC. But this astonishing period of glory and splendor of the Achaemenian dynasty came to an end by the conquests of Alexander of Macedon . The Susa weddings was arranged by Alexander in 324 BC in Susa , where mass weddings took place between the Persians and the Macedonians . After Alexander, the Seleucid dynasty came to rule the area. As

505-747: A group of Tamim had been living since pre-Islamic times. However, following the fall of the Abbasid dynasty, the flow of Arab immigrants into Persia gradually diminished, but it nonetheless continued. In the latter part of the 16th century, the Bani Kaab (pronounced Chaub in the local Gulf dialect), from Kuwait , settled in Khuzestan. And during the succeeding centuries, more Arab tribes moved from southern Iraq to Khuzestan. According to C.E. Bosworth in Encyclopædia Iranica , under

606-488: A lasting impact on the dynamics of the conflict. In April 1969, Iran abrogated the 1937 treaty over the Shatt al-Arab and Iranian ships stopped paying tolls to Iraq when they used the Shatt al-Arab. The Shah argued that the 1937 treaty was unfair to Iran because almost all river borders around the world ran along the thalweg , and because most of the ships that used the Shatt al-Arab were Iranian. Iraq threatened war over

707-502: A more defensive mode". Some scholars writing prior to the opening of formerly classified Iraqi archives, such as Alistair Finlan, argued that Saddam was drawn into a conflict with Iran due to the border clashes and Iranian meddling in Iraqi domestic affairs. Finlan stated in 2003 that the Iraqi invasion was meant to be a limited operation in order to send a political message to the Iranians to keep out of Iraqi domestic affairs, whereas Kevin M. Woods and Williamson Murray stated in 2014 that

808-538: A non-Persian Bakhtiari minority, while the southern section always had diverse minority groups known as Khuzis. Since the 1940s, a flood of job seekers from all over Iran to the oil and commerce centers on the Persian Gulf Coast has made the region more Persian-speaking. Presently, Khuzestan still maintains its diverse group, but does have Arabs, Persians, Bakhtiari and ethnic Qashqais and Lors. Khuzestan has great potential for agricultural expansion , which

909-542: A non-Semitic, and non-Indo-European-speaking kingdom, and "the earliest civilization of Persia" . The name Khuzestan is derived from the Elamite ( ʰŪvja ), likely pronounced /xuʒa/, later Middle Persian Hūzīg , Arabic al-Xūzīya . In fact, in the words of Elton L. Daniel , the Elamites were "the founders of the first 'Iranian' empire in the geographic sense." Hence the central geopolitical significance of Khuzestan,

1010-457: A politically sensitive region, particularly given its history of foreign intervention, notably the Iraqi invasion of 1980. Some ethnic groups complain over the distribution of the revenue generated by oil resources with claims that the central government is failing to invest profits from the oil industry in employment generation, post-war reconstruction and welfare projects. Low human development indicators among local Khuzestanis are contrasted with

1111-582: A stretch of the Shatt al-Arab river spanning several miles. Iraq launched a full-scale invasion of Iran on 22 September 1980. The Iraqi Air Force launched surprise air strikes on ten Iranian airfields with the objective of destroying the Iranian Air Force . The attack failed to cripple the Iranian Air Force: while it damaged some of Iran's airbase infrastructure, it did not destroy a significant number of aircraft. The Iraqi Air Force

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1212-587: A surprise airstrike against the Iranian air force's infrastructure prior to the main invasion. It is widely accepted among scholars that Iraq was seeking to annex, or at least to establish suzerainty over, Iran's Khuzestan province , but Saddam Hussein publicly denied this in November 1980. On 10 September 1980, Iraq forcibly reclaimed territories in Zain al-Qaws and Saif Saad that it had been promised under

1313-812: A third of the spoil. The Basrans purged the Nestorians—the Exegete of the city and the Bishop of Hormizd, and all their students—but kept Hormuzan alive. There followed the conquests of Gundeshapur and of many other districts along the Tigris. The Battle of Nahāvand finally secured Khuzestan for the Muslim armies. During the Muslim conquest the Sassanids were allied with non-Muslim Arab tribes, which implies that those wars were religious, rather than national. For instance in 633–634, Khaled ibn Walid leader of

1414-505: Is Lur . During a research that was commissioned by the General Culture Council in 2010 and based on a field survey and a statistical community among the residents of 288 cities and about 1400 villages across the country, the percentage of ethnic groups that were sampled in this survey in this province was as follows. Arabs was 33.6%, Persians 31.9%, Lurs 30%, Turkish speakers 2.5%, Kurds 1%, Other 0.7%. According to

1515-482: Is almost unrivaled by the country's other provinces. Large and permanent rivers flow over the entire territory contributing to the fertility of the land. Karun , Iran's most effluent river, 850 kilometers long, flows into the Persian Gulf through this province. The agricultural potential of most of these rivers, however, and particularly in their lower reaches, is hampered by the fact that their waters carry salt ,

1616-655: Is also characterized by an overreliance on dam construction and large-scale diversion projects, primarily benefiting politically connected enterprises and urban elites. This has led to the drying of rivers, wetlands, and other vital ecosystems, intensifying dust storms and land subsidence in regions like Khuzestan and Sistan-Baluchestan . Such environmental degradation, combined with insufficient governmental oversight and transparency, worsens living conditions for marginalized communities, reinforcing cycles of poverty and socio-political marginalization. Historically, Khuzestan, one of Iran's most water-rich provinces, has been hit hard by

1717-737: Is believed to have exceeded US$ 1 trillion. There were a number of proxy forces operating for both countries: Iraq and the pro-Iraqi Arab separatist militias in Iran were most notably supported by the National Council of Resistance of Iran ; whereas Iran re-established an alliance with the Iraqi Kurds , being primarily supported by the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan . During

1818-572: Is one of the 31 provinces of Iran . Located in the southwest of the country, the province borders Iraq and the Persian Gulf , covering an area of 63,238 square kilometres (24,416 sq mi). Its capital is the city of Ahvaz . Since 2014, it has been part of Iran's Region 4 . Once one of the most important regions of the Ancient Near East , Khuzestan comprises much of what historians refer to as ancient Elam , whose capital

1919-1166: Is one of the hottest places on earth with maximum temperatures in summer exceeding 50 °C (122 °F) sometimes. Reliable measurements in the city range from −5 to 54.0 °C (23.0 to 129.2 °F). Khuzestan has desert conditions and experiences many sandstorms. Iran ranks among the most water stressed countries in the world. However, Khuzestan province suffers from major water problems that were aggravated by corruption in Iran's water supply sector, lack of transparency, neglect of marginalized communities, and political favoritism . The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and other politically connected entities control water resources, prioritizing projects for political and economic gain rather than public need. They divert supplies to favored regions, causing shortages in vulnerable provinces like Khuzestan and Sistan-Baluchestan. For example, water diversion projects in Isfahan and Yazd provinces receive priority despite critical shortages in Khuzestan and Sistan-Baluchestan. Reports also indicate that certain agricultural and industrial enterprises with ties to

2020-524: Is spoken by no more than a few dozen elderly Mandaeans . Khuzestan is known for its ethnic diversity; the population of Khuzestan consists of Lurs , Arabs , Qashqai people of the Afshar tribe , Persians ( Dezfuli-Shushtari , Mahshahrys, Behbahani ), Mandean , Kurds and Iranian Armenians . Khuzestan's population is predominantly Shia Muslim , but there are small Christian , Jewish , Sunni and Mandean minorities. Half of Khuzestan's population

2121-724: The 1979 uprising . Initially it emerged the terrorists wanted autonomy for Khuzestan; later they demanded the release of 91 of their comrades held in Iranian jails. The group which claimed responsibility for the siege the Arab Popular Movement in Arabistan (See Arab separatism in Khuzestan ) gave a number of press conferences in the following months, referring to what it described as "the racist rule of Khomeini". It threatened further international action as part of its campaign to gain self-rule for Khuzestan. But its links with Baghdad served to undermine its argument that it

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2222-589: The Assembly of Experts , including Ayatollahs Mousavi Jazayeri , Ka'bi , Heidari , Farhani , Shafi'i , and Ahmadi . The province of Khuzestan can be basically divided into two regions; the rolling hills and mountainous regions north of the Ahvaz Ridge , and the plains and marsh lands to its south. The area is irrigated by the Karoun , Karkheh , Jarahi and Maroun rivers. The northern section maintains

2323-465: The Byzantine Empire , and Rome, shows the importance and prosperity of this region during this era. The Jondi-Shapur Medical School was founded by the order of Shapur I . It was repaired and restored by Shapur II (a.k.a. Zol-Aktaf : "The Possessor of Shoulder Blades") and was completed and expanded during the reign of Anushirvan. The Muslim conquest of Khuzestan took place in 639 AD under

2424-533: 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

2525-782: The Hebrew sources). The name of the city of Ahvaz also has the same origin as the name Khuzestan, being an Arabic broken plural from the compound name, "Suq al-Ahvaz" (Market of the Huzis)--the medieval name of the town, that replaced the Sasanian Persian name of the pre-Islamic times. The entire province was still known as "the Khudhi" or "the Khooji" until the reign of the Safavid king Tahmasp I (r. 1524–1576) and in general

2626-555: 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 and dominated by Sunni Muslims . Iraq also wished to replace Iran as

2727-662: The Iran–Iraq War of the 1980s, the Arabs of Khuzestan mostly resided in the rural regions along the Karkhe and Karun rivers in the southwest of the province and the number living in cities was very limited because the Arab tribes were still following a nomadic lifestyle. But after the end of the war, most of the refuged Arabs were relocated by the government to the urban centres and smaller towns. This conversion of lifestyle directly from nomadic to city life caused many problems and conflicts in

2828-502: The Jarahi and Karkheh in their lower reaches. Only the Marun is exempt from this. The climate of Khuzestan is generally very hot and occasionally humid, particularly in the south, while winters can be cold and dry. Summertime temperatures routinely exceed 45 °C (113 °F) almost daily and in the winter it can drop below freezing, with occasional snowfall in mountains. Khuzestan

2929-689: The Persian Gulf from Bahrain to "Ardashir-Khora" of Fars and raided the interior. In retaliation, Shapur II led an expedition through Bahrain, defeated the combined forces of the Arab tribes of "Taghleb", "Bakr bin Wael", and "Abd Al-Qays" and advanced temporarily into Yamama in central Najd . The Sassanids resettled these tribes in Kerman and Ahvaz . Arabs named Shapur II, as "Shabur Dhul-aktāf" after this battle. The existence of prominent scientific and cultural centers such as Academy of Gundishapur which gathered distinguished medical scientists from Egypt ,

3030-616: The Qajar dynasty "the province was known, as in Safavid times, as Arabistan, and during the Qajar period was administratively a governor-generalate." Half of Khuzestan was not known as Arabistan. Khuzestan's northern, more populous parts, with the capital at Shushtar , retained the old name, but also occasionally was incorporated into the district of the Greater Lur due to the large Bakhtiari population in half of Khuzestan. In 1856, in

3131-565: The Seleucid dynasty weakened, Mehrdad I the Parthian (171–137 BC), gained ascendency over the region. During the Sassanid dynasty this area thrived tremendously and flourished, and this dynasty was responsible for the many constructions that were erected in Ahvaz, Shushtar , and the north of Andimeshk . During the early years of the reign of Shapur II (AD 309 or 310–379), Arabs crossed

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3232-767: The Umayyad period, large groups of nomads from the Hanifa , Banu Tamim , and Abd al-Qays tribes crossed the Persian Gulf and occupied some of the richest Basran territories around Ahvaz and in Fars during the Second Fitna in 661–665 / 680–684 AD. During the Abbasid period, in the second half of the 10th century, the Assad tribe, taking advantage of quarrels under the Buwayhids , penetrated into Khuzestan, where

3333-579: The Zagros Mountains , and were able to block the traditional Tehran–Baghdad invasion route by securing territory forward of Qasr-e Shirin , Iran. On the northern front, the Iraqis attempted to establish a strong defensive position opposite Suleimaniya to protect the Iraqi Kirkuk oil complex . Iraqi hopes of an uprising by the ethnic Arabs of Khuzestan failed to materialise, as most of

3434-507: The 1996 census, the province had an estimated population of 3.7 million people, of which approximately 62.5% were in the urban centres, 36.5% were rural dwellers and the remaining 1% were non-residents. According to the most recent census taken in 2016, the province had 4,710,509 inhabitants. At the time of the 2006 National Census, the province's population was 4,192,598 in 862,491 households. The following census in 2011 counted 4,531,720 people in 1,112,664 households. The 2016 census measured

3535-668: The Armed Forces, second only to Saddam Hussein. In this position, he played a crucial role in rebuilding and modernizing the Iraqi military. Though the Iraqi air invasion surprised the Iranians, the Iranian air force retaliated the day after with a large-scale attack against Iraqi air bases and infrastructure in Operation Kaman 99 . Groups of F-4 Phantom and F-5 Tiger fighter jets attacked targets throughout Iraq, such as oil facilities, dams, petrochemical plants, and oil refineries, and included Mosul Airbase , Baghdad, and

3636-589: The Ba'ath government, which was received with considerable anger in Baghdad. On 17 July 1979, despite Khomeini's call, Saddam gave a speech praising the Iranian Revolution and called for an Iraqi–Iranian friendship based on non-interference in each other's internal affairs. When Khomeini rejected Saddam's overture by calling for Islamic revolution in Iraq, Saddam was alarmed. Iran's new Islamic administration

3737-581: The Hebrew sources where they are recorded as "Hauja" or "Huja". In Middle Persian , the term evolved into "Khuz" and "Kuzi". The pre-Islamic Partho-Sasanian inscriptions give the name of the province as Khwuzestan. The name Khuzestan means "The Land of the Khuzi", and refers to the original inhabitants of this province, the "Susian" people ( Old Persian "Huza", Middle Persian "Khuzi" or "Husa" (the Shushan of

3838-639: The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps have received significant amounts of water, while small farmers and rural communities struggle with severe shortages. Iran's central government prioritizes water allocation for industrial and urban centers, often at the expense of rural and minority populations. These groups face severe water shortages, ecological degradation, and a loss of livelihoods. This pattern of unequal development not only exacerbates regional disparities but also fuels social unrest and environmental crises. Iran's water policy

3939-496: The Iranian move, but on 24 April 1969, an Iranian tanker escorted by Iranian warships ( Joint Operation Arvand ) sailed down the Shatt al-Arab, and Iraq—being the militarily weaker state—did nothing. The Iranian abrogation of the 1937 treaty marked the beginning of a period of acute Iraqi–Iranian tension that would see significant bloodshed and was to last until the Algiers Agreement of 1975 . The relationship between

4040-416: The Iraqi advance, though not completely halting it. Meanwhile, Iraqi air attacks on Iran were repelled by Iran's F-14A Tomcat interceptor fighter jets, using AIM-54A Phoenix missiles, which downed a dozen of Iraq's Soviet-built fighters in the first two days of battle. The Iranian regular military, police forces, volunteer Basij, and Revolutionary Guards all conducted their operations separately; thus,

4141-619: The Iraqi invading forces did not face coordinated resistance. However, on 24 September, the Iranian Navy attacked Basra , Iraq, destroying two oil terminals near the Iraqi port of Al-Faw , which reduced Iraq's ability to export oil. The Iranian ground forces, primarily consisting of the Revolutionary Guard, retreated to the cities, where they set up defences against the invaders. On 30 September, Iran's air force launched Operation Scorch Sword , striking and badly damaging

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4242-584: The Iraqis had were over the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (formerly the Imperial Iranian Air Force ). Despite the purge of several key pilots and commanders, as well as the lack of spare parts, the air force showed its power during local uprisings and rebellions. They were also active after the failed U.S. attempt to rescue its hostages , Operation Eagle Claw . Based on these observations, Iraq's leaders decided to carry out

4343-542: The Iraqis. They were subordinate to the Revolutionary Guards, and they made up most of the manpower that was used in the Revolutionary Guard's attacks. Stephen Pelletiere wrote in his 1992 book The Iran–Iraq War: Chaos in a Vacuum : The human wave has been largely misconstrued both by the popular media in the West and by many scholars. The Iranians did not merely assemble masses of individuals, point them at

4444-532: The Kirkuk oil refinery. Iraq was taken by surprise at the strength of the retaliation, which caused the Iraqis heavy losses and economic disruption, but the Iranians took heavy losses as well as losing many aircraft and aircrews to Iraqi air defenses. Iranian Army Aviation 's AH-1 Cobra helicopter gunships began attacks on the advancing Iraqi divisions, along with F-4 Phantoms armed with AGM-65 Maverick missiles; they destroyed numerous armoured vehicles and impeded

4545-521: The Muslim Army, defeated a force of the Sassanids' Arab auxiliaries from the tribes of Bakr, 'Ejl, Taghleb and Namer at 'Ayn Al-Tamr. The Muslim settlements by military garrisons in southern Iran was soon followed by other types of expansion. Some families, for example, took the opportunity to gain control of private estates. Like the rest of Iran, the Muslim conquest thus brought Khuzestan under

4646-414: The Sasanian time and throughout the Islamic era, the provincial seat returned and stayed at Shushtar, until the late Qajar period. With the increase in the international sea commerce, arriving on the shores of Khuzistan, Ahvaz became a more suitable location for the provincial capital. The River Karun is navigable all the way to Ahvaz (above which, it flows through rapids). The town was thus refurbished by

4747-400: The Soviet Union and France. Between 1973 and 1980 alone, Iraq purchased an estimated 1,600 tanks and APCs and over 200 Soviet-made aircraft. By 1980, Iraq possessed 242,000 soldiers, second only to Egypt in the Arab world, 2,350 tanks and 340 combat aircraft. Watching the disintegration of the powerful Iranian army that frustrated him in 1974–1975, he saw an opportunity to attack, using

4848-409: The amount of which increases as the rivers flow away from the source mountains and hills. In case of the Karun, a single tributary river, Rud-i Shur ("Salty River") that flows into the Karun above Shushtar contributes most of the salt that the river carries. As such, the freshness of the Karun waters could be greatly enhanced if the Rud-i Shur could be diverted away from the Karun. The same applies to

4949-442: The army being more integrated as a part of the regime by the war's end. Meanwhile, a new paramilitary organisation gained prominence in Iran, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps . Created to protect the new regime and serve as a counterbalance to the army, the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) had been trained to act only as a militia and struggled to adapt as needed following the Iraqi invasion, initially refusing to fight alongside

5050-495: The army. These purges resulted in a drastic decline in the Iranian military's operational capacities. On the eve of the revolution in 1978, international experts in military science had assessed that Iran's armed forces were the fifth most powerful in the world. However, by the eve of war with Iraq, the recently formidable Iranian army was in many crucial ways a shell of its former self, having been badly weakened by losses in experienced personnel. The desertion rate had reached 60%,

5151-491: The balance of evidence suggests Saddam was seeking "a convenient excuse for war" in 1980. On 8 March 1980, Iran announced it was withdrawing its ambassador from Iraq, downgraded its diplomatic ties to the charge d'affaires level, and demanded that Iraq do the same. The following day, Iraq declared Iran's ambassador persona non grata , and demanded his withdrawal from Iraq by 15 March. In Iran, severe officer purges, including numerous executions ordered by Sadegh Khalkhali ,

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5252-417: The central Iranian government and the Arab nationalists of the province continued since. The name of 'Khuzistan' came to be applied to the entire territory by 1936. Over the next decades of the Pahlavi rule, the province of Khuzestan remained relatively quiet, gaining to hold an important economic and defensive strategic position. With the Iranian Revolution taking place in early 1979, local rebellions swept

5353-401: The command of Abu Musa al-Ash'ari from Basra , who drove the Persian satrap Hormuzan out of Ahvaz . Susa later fell, so Hormuzan fled to Shushtar . There his forces were besieged by Abu Musa for 18 months. Shushtar finally fell in 642 AD; the Khuzistan Chronicle records that an unknown Arab, living in the city, befriended a man in the army, and dug tunnels through the wall in return for

5454-484: The conflict, Iraq received an abundance of financial, political, and logistical aid from the United States , the United Kingdom , the Soviet Union , France , Italy , Yugoslavia , and the overwhelming majority of Arab countries . While Iran was comparatively isolated to a large degree, it received a significant amount of aid from Syria , Libya , China , North Korea , Israel , Pakistan , and South Yemen . The conflict has been compared to World War I in terms of

5555-406: The country, with Khuzestan being no exception. In April 1979, an uprising broke out in the province, led by the Arab separatist group Arab Political and Cultural Organisation (APCO), seeking to gain independence from the new theocratic rule. The Iranian Embassy siege of 1980 in London was initiated by an Arab separatist group as an aftermath response to the regional crackdown in Khuzestan, after

5656-413: The course of the Anglo-Persian War over the city of Herat , the British naval forces sailed up the Karun river all the way to Ahvaz . However, in the settlement that followed, they evacuated the province. Some tribal forces, such as those led by Sheikh Jabir al-Kaabi , the Sheikh of Mohammerah , fared better in opposing the invading British forces than those dispatched by the central government, which

5757-469: The course of the 16th century. The southern half of the province—south, southwest of the Ahvaz Ridge , had come by the 17th century to be known—at least to the imperial Safavid chancery as Arabistan. The contemporaneous history, the Alam Ara-i Abbasi by Iskandar Beg Munshi , written during the reign of king Abbas I (r. 1588–1629), regularly refers to the southern part of Khuzestan as "Arabistan". The northern half continued to be called Khuzestan. In 1925,

5858-428: The crossing points around the Karkheh and Karoun Rivers were undermanned and that the rivers could be easily crossed. Iraqi intelligence was also informed that the Iranian forces in Khuzestan Province , which consisted of two divisions prior to the revolution, now only consisted of several ill-equipped and under-strength battalions . Only a handful of company -sized tank units remained operational. The only qualms

5959-409: The eastern bank of the Shatt al-Arab that it had ceded to Iran in the 1975 Algiers Agreement . Iraqi support for Arab separatists in Iran increased following the outbreak of hostilities; Saddam disputedly may have wished to annex Iran's Arab-majority Khuzestan province . While the Iraqi leadership had hoped to take advantage of Iran's post-revolutionary chaos and expected a decisive victory in

6060-422: The enemy, and order a charge. The waves were made up of the 22-man squads mentioned above [in response to Khomeini's call for the people to come to Iran's defense, each mosque organized 22 volunteers into a squad]. Each squad was assigned a specific objective. In battle, they would surge forward to accomplish their missions, and thus gave the impression of a human wave pouring against enemy lines. Despite neglect by

6161-473: The entire province regained the old name and the term Arabistan was dropped. There is also a very old folk etymology which maintains the word "khouz" stands for sugar and "Khouzi" for people who make raw sugar. The province has been a cane sugar-producing area since the late Sassanian times, such as the sugar cane fields of the Dez River side in Dezful . Khuzhestan has been the land of Khouzhies who cultivate sugar cane even today in Haft Tepe . The name of

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6262-420: The ethnic Arabs remained loyal to Iran. The Iraqi troops advancing into Iran in 1980 were described by Patrick Brogan as "badly led and lacking in offensive spirit". The first known chemical weapons attack by Iraq on Iran probably took place during the fighting around Susangerd. Adnan Khayr Allah served as Iraqi Minister of Defence throughout the Iran–Iraq War, and was appointed Deputy Supreme Commander of

6363-928: The expected thrills of the genre." This article about a 1990s action film is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article related to an American film of the 1990s is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Iran%E2%80%93Iraq War Start of war: 110,000–215,000 soldiers KDP: 45,000 Peshmerga (1986–88) PUK: 12,000 Peshmerga (1986–88) Start of war: 200,000–210,000 soldiers KDPI: 30,000 Peshmerga (1980–83) MEK: 15,000 fighters (1981–83, 87–88) Military dead: 200,000–600,000 Military dead: 105,000–500,000 Iraqi invasion of Iran (1980) Stalemate (1981) Iranian offensives to free Iranian territory (1981–82) Iranian offensives in Iraq (1982–84) Iranian offensives in Iraq (1985–87) Final stages (1988) Tanker War International incidents The Iran–Iraq War , also known as

6464-515: The face of a severely weakened Iran, the Iraqi military only made progress for three months, and by December 1980, the Iraqi invasion had stalled. The Iranian military began to gain momentum against the Iraqis and regained all lost territory by June 1982. After pushing Iraqi forces back to the pre-war border lines, Iran rejected United Nations Security Council Resolution 514 and launched an invasion of Iraq. The subsequent Iranian offensive within Iraqi territory lasted for five years, with Iraq taking back

6565-422: The factors that sparked high dissatisfaction among residents. The frustrations typically manifested in protests and rallies. In 2005, Ahvaz witnessed a number of terrorist attacks , which came following the violent Ahvaz riots . The first bombing came ahead of the presidential election on 12 June 2005. In 2011, another wave of protests by Arab tribes occurred mostly in the urban area of Ahvaz. Before

6666-402: The four Iraqi divisions, one mechanised and one armoured, operated near the southern end and began a siege of the strategically important port cities of Abadan and Khorramshahr . The two armoured divisions secured the territory bounded by the cities of Khorramshahr , Ahvaz , Susangerd , and Musian . On the central front, the Iraqis occupied Mehran , advanced towards the foothills of

6767-483: The governments of Iran and Iraq briefly improved in 1978, when Iranian agents in Iraq discovered plans for a pro-Soviet coup d'état against Iraq's government. When informed of this plot, Saddam ordered the execution of dozens of his army's officers, and in a sign of reconciliation, expelled from Iraq Ruhollah Khomeini , an exiled leader of clerical opposition to the Shah. Tensions between Iraq and Iran were fuelled by Iran's Islamic revolution and its appearance of being

6868-492: The initiative in mid-1988 and subsequently launching a series of major counter-offensives that ultimately led to the conclusion of the war in a stalemate. The eight years of war-exhaustion, economic devastation, decreased morale, military stalemate, inaction by the international community towards the use of weapons of mass destruction by Iraqi forces on Iranian soldiers and civilians , as well as increasing Iran–United States military tensions all culminated in Iran's acceptance of

6969-427: The last day of the war, this province was always the scene of Iran's various operations to recapture the areas occupied by the Iraqi army forces. At the beginning of the war, cities such as Abadan , Susangerd , Bostan , Dezful , Andimeshk , Khorramshahr , and Ahvaz , which were the capital of the province, were regularly targeted by Iraqi army rocket and artillery attacks. The long-term occupation of some areas of

7070-529: The mismanagement of water resources. The drying of rivers, including the Karkheh and Karun , has made agriculture unsustainable in many parts of the province. In recent years, Khuzestan has witnessed a significant exodus of its rural population as people move to cities for work and better living conditions. The situation has been exacerbated by periodic dust storms, which further degrade the environment and make life untenable in affected regions. This environmental migration from Khuzestan has led to social tensions in

7171-445: The most important Iranian port prior to the war) was a turning point in the war, and is officially celebrated every year in Iran. The city of Khorramshahr was almost completely destroyed as a result of the scorched earth policy ordered by Iraq's leader, Saddam Hussein. However, Iranian forces were able to prevent the Iraqis from attempting to spread the execution of this policy to other major urban centres. From 22 September 1980 to

7272-583: The nearly-complete Osirak Nuclear Reactor near Baghdad. By 1 October, Baghdad had been subjected to eight air attacks. In response, Iraq launched aerial strikes against Iranian targets. The mountainous border between Iran and Iraq made a deep ground invasion almost impossible, and air strikes were used instead. The invasion's first waves were a series of air strikes targeted at Iranian airfields. Iraq also attempted to bomb Tehran, Iran's capital and command centre, into submission. Khuzestan province Khuzestan Province ( Persian : استان خوزستان )

7373-426: The new Revolutionary Court judge, and shortages of spare parts for Iran's American and British-made equipment had crippled Iran's once-mighty military . Between February and September 1979, Iran's government executed 85 senior generals and forced all major-generals and most brigadier-generals into early retirement. By September 1980, the revolutionary government had purged some 12,000 officers of all levels from

7474-437: The new government's downfall, or at least end Iran's calls for his overthrow. Of Iraq's six divisions that invaded by ground, four were sent to Khuzestan, which was located near the border's southern end, to cut off the Shatt al-Arab from the rest of Iran and to establish a territorial security zone. The other two divisions invaded across the northern and central part of the border to prevent an Iranian counter-attack. Two of

7575-487: The new regime, at the outset of the conflict, Iran still had at least 1,000 operational tanks and several hundred functional aircraft and could cannibalize equipment to procure spare parts. Continuous sanctions greatly limited Iran from acquiring many additional heavy weapons, including tanks and aircraft. In addition, the area around the Shatt al-Arab posed no obstacle for the Iraqis, as they possessed river crossing equipment. Iraq correctly deduced that Iran's defences at

7676-425: The news reports that Iraq has invaded Kuwait and that all foreign nationals are to be evacuated. Ben Matthews ( Tommy Hinkley ), Doug's diabetic brother, who is a teacher, is taken away from his wife and child by Iraqi guards for interrogation and is held hostage to lure Doug in to a trap. Emanuel Levy of Variety magazine called it " a lame, small-budget actioner that exploits its political context without delivering

7777-534: The northern reaches of the land, first at Susa ( Shush ) and then at Shushtar . During a short spell in the Sasanian era, the capital of the province was moved to its geographical center, where the river town of Hormuz-Ardasher, founded over the foundation of the ancient Hoorpahir by Ardashir I , the founder of the Sasanian Dynasty in the 3rd century CE. This town is now known as Ahvaz. However, later in

7878-416: The officer corps was devastated and its most highly skilled soldiers and aviators had been exiled, imprisoned, or executed. When the invasion occurred, many pilots and officers were released from prison, or had their executions commuted to combat the Iraqis. Throughout the war, Iran never managed to fully recover from this flight of human capital . Many junior officers were promoted to generals, resulting in

7979-566: The order of the Qajar king, Naser al-Din Shah and renamed after him, Nâseri. Shushtar quickly declined, while Ahvaz/ Nâseri prospered to the present day. Since the early 1920s, tensions on religious and ethnic grounds have often resulted in separatist violence , including an insurgency in 1979 , an embassy siege , unrest in 2005 , bombings in 2005–06 and protests in 2011 . The Iranian regime has drawn harsh criticism from international human rights organizations for its repressive measures against

8080-445: The population of the province as 4,710,509 in 1,280,645 households. [REDACTED] The population history and structural changes of Khuzestan Province's administrative divisions over three consecutive censuses are shown in the following table. According to the 2016 census, 3,554,205 people (over 75% of the population of Khuzestan Province) live in the following cities: The seat of the province has for most of its history been in

8181-537: The power player in the Persian Gulf , which was not seen as an achievable objective prior to the Islamic Revolution because of Pahlavi Iran 's economic and military superiority as well as its close relationships with the United States and Israel . The Iran–Iraq War followed a long-running history of territorial border disputes between the two states , as a result of which Iraq planned to retake

8282-507: The province in Syriac is Beth Huzaye. The province of Khuzestan is one of the centres of ancient civilization, and one of the most important regions of the Ancient Near East , based around Susa . The first large scale empire based here was that of the powerful 4th millennium BC Elamites . Archeological ruins verify the entire province of Khuzestan to be home to the Elamite civilization,

8383-495: The province's residents. As a result, Khuzestan suffered the heaviest damage of all Iranian provinces during the war. Iraq's President Saddam Hussein felt confident that the Arab population of the Khuzestan would react enthusiastically to the prospect of union with Iraq. However, resistance to the invasion was fierce, stalling the Iraqi military's advance, and ultimately opening a window of opportunity for an Iranian counter-offensive. What used to be Iran's largest refinery at Abadan

8484-438: The province, further contributed to the damage to natural and human capital in the province. Since the war, the speed of growth and development of the province has been very slow. Khuzestan, despite benefiting from abundant natural resources including oil, has many economic, environmental, social, and construction problems, among others. High unemployment rate, water crisis, high dust, and lack of civil infrastructure are among

8585-403: The region, as local communities face declining living standards and heightened unemployment. Khuzestan is ethnically diverse, home to many different ethnic groups. This has a bearing on Khuzestan's electoral politics, with ethnic minority rights playing a significant role in the province's political culture. The province's geographical location bordering Iraq and its oil resources also make it

8686-522: The regular army, resulting in many defeats. It was not until 1982 that the two groups began carrying out combined operations. An additional paramilitary militia was founded in response to the invasion, the "Army of 20 Million", commonly known as the Basij . The Basij were poorly armed and had members as young as 12 and as old as 70. They often acted in conjunction with the Revolutionary Guard, launching so-called human wave attacks and other campaigns against

8787-482: The religious and ethnic minorities in the region. However, the internal conflict was brought to a temporary halt in 1980 when Khuzestan was invaded by Ba'athist Iraq , leading to the Iran–Iraq War where Khuzestanis of all backgrounds fought alongside the Iranian military in resisting the Iraqi offensive. Currently, Khuzestan has 18 representatives in Iran's parliament, the Majlis . Meanwhile, it has six representatives in

8888-462: The rule of the Arabs of the Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates, until Ya'qub bin Laith as-Saffar , from southeastern Iran, raised the flag of independence once more, and ultimately regained control over Khuzestan, among other parts of Iran, founding the short-lived Saffarid dynasty. From that point on, Iranian dynasties would continue to rule the region in succession as an important part of Iran. In

8989-571: The seat of Iran's first empire. In 640 BC, the Elamites were defeated by Ashurbanipal , coming under the rule of the Assyrians who brought destruction upon Susa and Chogha Zanbil. But in 538 BC, Cyrus the Great was able to re-conquer the Elamite lands after nearly 80 years of Median rule. The city of Susa was then proclaimed as one of the Achaemenid capitals. Darius the Great then erected

9090-622: The structure of their societies and ultimately has led to some unrest. An unfinished building collapsed in Khuzestan province in June 2022. It was reported that thirteen people were arrested over the collapse. The incident also caused demonstrations in the region. Apart from Persian , other languages and dialects are also spoken in Khuzestan. For instance, a portion of Khuzestan's populace speaks Arabic ( Khuzestani Arabic ). Another part of Khuzestanis speak in Bakhtiari dialect . Neo-Mandaic

9191-471: The supposed "wrong" of the Algiers Agreement , in addition to finally achieving his desire of becoming the regional superpower. Saddam's goal was to supplant Egypt as the "leader of the Arab world" and to achieve hegemony over the Persian Gulf. He saw Iran's increased weakness due to revolution, sanctions, and international isolation. Saddam had invested heavily in Iraq's military since his defeat against Iran in 1975, buying large amounts of weaponry from

9292-504: The tactics used by both sides, including large-scale trench warfare with barbed wire stretched across fortified defensive lines, manned machine-gun posts, bayonet charges , Iranian human wave attacks , Iraq's extensive use of chemical weapons , and deliberate attacks on civilian targets. The discourses on martyrdom formulated in the Iranian Shia Islamic context led to the widespread usage of human wave attacks and thus had

9393-410: The terms of the 1975 Algiers Agreement but that Iran had never handed over, leading to both Iran and Iraq declaring the treaty null and void, on 14 September and 17 September, respectively. As a result, the only outstanding border dispute between Iran and Iraq at the time of the Iraqi invasion of 22 September was the question of whether Iranian ships would fly Iraqi flags and pay Iraq navigation fees for

9494-585: The threat of Islamic Revolution as a pretext. Iraqi military intelligence reported in July 1980 that despite Iran's bellicose rhetoric, "it is clear that, at present, Iran has no power to launch wide offensive operations against Iraq, or to defend on a large scale." Days before the Iraqi invasion and in the midst of rapidly escalating cross-border skirmishes, Iraqi military intelligence again reiterated on 14 September that "the enemy deployment organization does not indicate hostile intentions and appears to be taking on

9595-415: Was a purely Iranian opposition group; there were allegations that it was backed by Iran's regional rival, Iraq . Their leader ("Salim" - Awn Ali Mohammed) along with four other members of the group were killed and the fifth member, Fowzi Badavi Nejad, was sentenced to life imprisonment. During the Iran–Iraq War , Khuzestan was the focus of the Iraqi invasion of Iran, leading to the flight of thousands of

9696-512: Was destroyed, never to fully recover. Many of the famous nakhlestans (palm groves) were annihilated, cities were destroyed, historical sites were demolished, and nearly half the province captured by the invading Iraqi army. This created a mass exodus into other provinces that did not have the logistical capability of taking in such a large number of refugees. However, by 1982, Iranian forces managed to push Iraqi forces out of Iran . The Battle of Khorramshahr (one of Khuzestan's largest cities and

9797-432: Was governed by Bakhtiari khans. Following Sheikh Khazal's rebellion , the western part of Khuzestan's emirate was dissolved by Reza Shah government in 1925, along with other autonomous regions of Persia , in a bid to centralize the state. In response Sheikh Khaz'al of Muhammerah initiated a rebellion , which was quickly crushed by the newly installed Pahlavi dynasty with minimal casualties. A low level conflict between

9898-512: Was in Susa . The Achaemenid Old Persian term for Elam was Hujiyā when they conquered it from the Elamites. This element is present in the modern name. Khuzestan, meaning "the Land of the Khuz", refers to the original inhabitants of this province, the "Susian" people (Old Persian "Huza" or Huja , as in the inscription on the tomb of Darius the Great at Naqsh-e Rostam ). They are the Shushan of

9999-405: Was only able to strike in depth with a few MiG-23BN , Tu-22 , and Su-20 aircraft, and Iran had built hardened aircraft shelters where most of its combat aircraft were stored. The next day, Iraq launched a ground invasion, mounting three simultaneous attacks along a 644 km (400 mi) front. Saddam hoped an attack on Iran would cause such a blow to Iran's prestige that it would lead to

10100-452: Was quite feeble. But, the point of the invasion of the province and other coastal regions of southern Persia / Iran were to force the evacuation of Herat by the Persians and not the permanent occupation of these regions. In the two decades before 1925, although nominally part of Persian territory, the western part of Khuzestan functioned for many years effectively as an autonomous emirate known as "Arabistan". The eastern part of Khuzestan

10201-456: Was regarded in Baghdad as an irrational, existential threat to the Ba'ath government, especially because the Ba'ath party, having a secular nature, discriminated against and posed a threat to the fundamentalist Shia movement in Iraq, whose clerics were Iran's allies within Iraq and whom Khomeini saw as oppressed. Saddam's primary interest in war may have also stemmed from his desire to right

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