“On 20 March 1982, on the occasion of the Iranian new year, Khomeini announced that ‘as a special favour’ schoolboys between the ages of 12 and 18 years would be allowed to join the Basij and to fight for their… — Efraim Karsh Copy Share Image
“Khomeini espoused a militant religious doctrine rejecting not only the Middle Eastern political order, but also the contemporary international system since both perpetuated an… — Efraim Karsh Copy Share Image
“Nor was Iraq’s combat experience in the October War any more impressive: the armoured division that arrived at the Golan front ten days after… — Efraim Karsh Copy Share Image
“Yet, despite their overwhelming superiority in firepower and their resort to chemical weapons, the Iraqi forces failed to retake Fao, with some 10,000 Iraqis… — Efraim Karsh Copy Share Image
“The implications of this speech were not long in coming. On 22 September, emulating the brilliant Israeli gambit of the Six Day War in… — Efraim Karsh Copy Share Image
“Never forgetting the involvement of military officers in the 1953 attempt to force him from his throne, the Shah took great pains to keep… — Efraim Karsh Copy Share Image
“The military was supported by a number of prominent moderate politicians, notably President Ali Khameini, Prime Minister Mir Hossein Mussavi, and Foreign Minister Ali… — Efraim Karsh Copy Share Image
“Secondly, given Iraq’s position as the largest and most powerful Arab state in the Gulf, it was viewed by the revolutionary regime as the… — Efraim Karsh Copy Share Image
“This mixture of political and geographical considerations compounded Saddam’s failure to grasp the operational requirements of such a campaign. Rather than allowing his forces… — Efraim Karsh Copy Share Image
“In all these operations Iraq made extensive use of chemical weapons which, apart from Saddam’s determination to get the Iranians off Iraqi territory at… — Efraim Karsh Copy Share Image
“On 20 March 1982, on the occasion of the Iranian new year, Khomeini announced that ‘as a special favour’ schoolboys between the ages of… — Efraim Karsh Copy Share Image
“Nevertheless, what saved Iran from a comprehensive defeat was not the ferocity of its military resistance but rather the limited objectives of the Iraqi… — Efraim Karsh Copy Share Image
“It was 2 pm on 20 July, and even though President Khameini had announced Iran’s acceptance of the ceasefire resolution three days earlier, Khomeini’s… — Efraim Karsh Copy Share Image
