Sacred defense: how Saddam fought with Ayatollah Khomeini

On September 22, 1980, the Iraqi army crossed the disputed Shatt al-Arab River and invaded Iran. One of the largest and longest wars of the second half of the 20th century began. During the eight years of armed conflict, both countries had lost up to 1.3 per cent of their population and their economies had suffered enormous damage. Fighting for the title of superpower of the Middle East, the leaders of Iraq and Iran brought only suffering to their peoples and plunged them into a severe crisis.