September 24, 2020 | Foreign Podicy

The Iraq-Iran War: An Unhappy 40th Anniversary

September 24, 2020 Foreign Podicy

The Iraq-Iran War: An Unhappy 40th Anniversary

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On September 22, 1980, Iraq and Iran went to war. The conflict dragged on for eight long years, taking an estimated half million lives. When it was over, both countries and the Middle East had been profoundly changed.

Behnam Ben Taleblu, an Iran expert and senior fellow at FDD — also a native Farsi speaker who has been intensively studying the region for years — talks with host Cliff May about this not-so-well-remembered war, and its significant fallout.

The Bassij militia forces were founded by the late Ayatollah Khomeini in to defend Islamic Revolution. (Getty Images)