Al-Faw Peninsula - Iranian Occupation

Iranian Occupation

During the Iran–Iraq War in the 1980s, al-Faw was bitterly contested due to its strategic location at the head of the disputed Shatt al-Arab waterway, and was the site of many large-scale battles. In 1986, the Iranians capitalized on the weakness of the Iraqi defences located at the southernmost tip of the peninsula.

On February 11, 1986, the Iranians launched a surprise attack against the Iraqi troops defending al-Faw. The Iraqi units in charge of the defences consisted mostly of poorly-trained Iraqi Popular Army conscripts that collapsed when they were suddenly attacked by Iranian Pasdaran (Revolutionary Guard) forces.

It marked the first time that the Iranians had successfully invaded and occupied Iraqi territory. The Iranians defeated several Iraqi counteroffensives and managed to hang on to their foothold.

The occupation of al-Faw placed Basra at risk of being attacked. The Iranians also used the peninsula as a launch pad for Silkworm missiles which were deployed against shipping and oil terminals in the Persian Gulf, and also against Kuwait, which supported Iraq throughout the war.

On April 17, 1988, the newly-restructured Iraqi Army began a major operation named "Ramadan Mubarak" aimed to clear the Iranians out of the peninsula. The Iraqis concentrated well over 100,000 troops from the battled-hardened Iraqi Republican Guard versus 15,000 second-rate Iranian Basij soldiers.

By employing the use of massive artillery barrages, air bombardments, and extensive amounts of chemical weapons, the Iraqis eventually expelled the Iranians from the peninsula within thirty-five hours, with much of their equipment captured intact. The event was marked as an official national holiday under the former regime of Saddam Hussein, celebrated as the Faw City Liberation Day.