The war between Iran and America in the Persian Gulf, the first episode of the formation of the IRGC Navy and the Mantis operation
The Tanker War was a series of prolonged armed conflicts between Iran and Iraq against merchant ships in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz from 1984 to 1988. This conflict was part of the Iran-Iraq war.
Prior to 1984, attacks on shipping had occurred, albeit on a much smaller scale. In December 1980, the Secretary-General of the United Nations requested Iran and Iraq to guarantee the security of peaceful shipping in the Persian Gulf. At that time, Iran assured other countries that it would keep the Strait of Hormuz open.
The Tanker War was started by Iraq in 1984. Kuwait and Saudi Arabia supported Iraq against Iran, while the United States intervened in the 1986 conflict to "protect" Kuwaiti tankers and subsequently became involved in a confrontation with Iran.
Both sides had declared "exclusion zones", meaning areas that ships had been warned not to enter. Iraq declared the area around the island off Iran as a prohibited area. Kharg Island hosted Iran's main oil transportation port. Iraq provided a precise definition of this forbidden area with coordinates and informed all countries in advance. But Iraq did not determine any safe passage in this area. Iran declared all waters adjacent to its coast up to 40 miles as its exclusion zone. He ordered the ships that were going to non-Iranian ports to move to the west of this line. While Iran has not designated any safe passage in its restricted area, this was not necessary. Iran's embargo allowed ships to enter and exit the Persian Gulf, essentially keeping only such foreign ships out of its waters. Ironically, Iran's no-go zone made it easier for Iraq to target Iranian ships. This allowed Iraq to assume that any ship in Iranian territorial waters must go to (or depart from) an Iranian port.
France's aid to Iraq in the Iran-Iraq war refers to the set of military and intelligence aid that France started giving to Iraq before the Iran-Iraq war in 1973. With the beginning of the 8-year war, these aids intensified. The volume of military aid and the sale of French equipment to Iraq during the war was such that this country was ranked second in arms sales to Iraq after the Soviet Union. According to document No. 53/4/2099/dated April 2, 1987 of the Iraqi Ministry of Defense, Philippe Rondo speaks about his role in sending Mirage planes and Roland missiles to Adnan Khairullah. He also informs about the discussion in the French government delegation about the possibility of Iraq's limited access to nuclear weapons in the war. Kenneth Timmerman writes in his book about US-encouraged French aid to Iraq: "When the Iraqi regime was severely weakened by the Iranian invasion, Washington encouraged France to intensify arms deliveries to Iraq."
12 сен 2024
