Long-standing border disputes and political turmoil in Iran prompt Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to launch an invasion of Iran's oil-producing province of Khuzestan. After initial advances, the Iraqi offense was repulsed. In 1982, Iraq voluntarily withdrew and sought a peace agreement, but the Ayatollah Khomeini renewed fighting. Stalemates and the deaths of thousands of young Iranian conscripts in Iraq followed. Population centers in both countries were bombed, and Iraq employed chemical weapons. In the Persian Gulf, a "tanker war" curtailed shipping and increased oil prices. In 1988, Iran agreed to a cease-fire.
Also on This Day
- Lead Story
- Lincoln issues Emancipation Proclamation, 1862
- American Revolution
- Patriot executed for spying, 1776
- Automotive
- The famous "four-level" opens in Los Angeles, 1953
- Civil War
- Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation is announced, 1862
- Cold War
- President Kennedy signs Peace Corps legislation, 1961
- Crime
- So-called Midtown Stabber kills his first victim, 1980
- Disaster
- Train derails in Alabama swamp, 1993
- General Interest
- American Patriot executed for spying, 1776
- Shaka Zulu assassinated, 1828
- U-boat devastates British squadron, 1914
- Dempsey loses on long count, 1927
- Iran-Iraq War, 1980
- Hollywood
- Friends debuts, 1994
- Literary
- Playwright Ben Jonson is indicted for manslaughter, 1598
- Music
- The first "Farm Aid" concert is held in Champaign, Illinois, 1985
- Old West
- Coronado dies, without finding the fabled cities of gold, 1554
- Presidential
- President Ford survives second assassination attempt, 1975
- Sports
- Controversial long count mars Tunney-, 1927
- Vietnam War
- Goldwater attacks Johnson's Vietnam policy, 1964
- Medina is acquitted of all charges, 1971
- World War I
- German U-boat devastates British squadron, 1914
- World War II
- Patton questions necessity of Germany's "denazification", 1945
Sep 22, 1980:
Iran-Iraq War
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This Week in History, Sep 22 - Sep 28
- Sep 22, 1776
- American Patriot executed for spying
- Sep 22, 1828
- Shaka Zulu assassinated
- Sep 22, 1914
- U-boat devastates British squadron
- Sep 22, 1927
- Dempsey loses on long count
- Sep 22, 1980
- Iran-Iraq War
- Sep 23, 1779
- John Paul Jones victorious
- Sep 23, 1806
- Lewis and Clark return
- Sep 23, 1846
- Eighth planet discovered
- Sep 23, 1964
- Chagall's ceiling unveiled
- Sep 24, 622
- Muhammad completes Hegira
- Sep 25, 1789
- Bill of Rights passes Congress
- Sep 25, 1981
- O'Connor takes seat on Supreme Court
- Sep 25, 2005
- IRA officially disarms
- Sep 26, 1580
- Drake circumnavigates the globe
- Sep 26, 1957
- Bernstein's West Side Story opens
- Sep 26, 1996
- Shannon Lucid returns to Earth
- Sep 27, 1540
- Jesuit order established
- Sep 27, 1960
- Sylvia Pankhurst dies
- Sep 28, 48 B.C.
- Pompey the Great assassinated
- Sep 28, 1066
- William the Conqueror invades England
- Sep 28, 1542
- Cabrillo encounters California
- Sep 28, 1989
- Marcos dies in exile
- Sep 28, 1994
- Estonia sinks
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