On this day in ...... 1980, following 3 weeks of skirmishes along the border, Iran and Iraq went to war against each other, with Iraq bombing Iranian military bases and the airport in Tehran. According to the BBC, "The rise in hostilities comes after Iraq tore up a 1975 border agreement with Iran over sovereignty of the Shatt al-Arab waterway." At the Iran-Iraq War's end 8 years later, it was estimated that more than 400,000 persons had been killed and another 750,000 wounded. (credit for photo of Iranian soldier wearing gas mask during course of the war)
(Prior September 22 posts are here and here.)
