International aid to combatants in the Iran–Iraq War
During the Iran–Iraq War, both Iran and Iraq received large quantities of weapons and other material useful to the development of armaments and weapons of mass destruction.
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[edit] Iran
Iran's foreign supporters gradually came to include Syria and Libya, through which it obtained Scud missiles. It purchased weaponry from North Korea and the People's Republic of China, notably the Silkworm anti-ship missile. It also received very limited assistance from the United States.
[edit] United States Involvement
During the early years of the war, Iran's arsenal was almost entirely American-made, left over from the Imperial Armed Forces of the dethroned Shah.
[edit] Iran-Contra affair
Iran acquired weapons and parts for its Shah-era U.S. systems through covert arms transactions from officials in the Reagan Administration, first indirectly through Israel and then directly. It was hoped Iran would, in exchange, persuade several radical groups to release Western hostages, though this did not result; proceeds from the sales were diverted to the Nicaraguan Contras in what became known as the Iran-Contra Affair.
[edit] Intelligence
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This article's factual accuracy is disputed. Please help to ensure that disputed facts are reliably sourced. See the relevant discussion on the talk page. (March 2008) |
Prior to the 1979 revolution, the US had been providing intelligence to Iran. In mid-October 1979, at the request of the United States Department of State, a CIA officer went to Tehran and warned the government, mid-October 1979, of Iraq's plan to invade. US cooperation of this type stopped when the U.S. embassy was seized.[1]
[edit] Satellite imaging
Richard Sale of UPI quoted a former U.S. official as follows:[2]:
a former official said that he personally had signed off on a document that shared U.S. satellite intelligence with both Iraq and Iran in an attempt to produce a military stalemate. "When I signed it, I thought I was losing my mind", the former official told UPI.
[edit] Strategic Intent
Author George Crile, in his book Charlie Wilson's War, writes regarding CIA involvement in the Iran–Iraq War:[3]
As explained by Ed Juchniewicz - Avrakotos's patron and the number two man in the Operations Division at that time - they were just leveling the playing field: "We didn't want either side to have the advantage. We just wanted them to kick the shit out of each other".
In 1985, a CIA analyst,Graham Fuller, had proposed that the US should offer to sell weapons to Iran, as a means of blocking Soviet influence there. Robert M. Gates, then head of the CIA National Intelligence Council, advanced the suggestion, which circulated over the signature of Director of Central Intelligence William Casey. The section was rejected by the incumbent Secretary of State George Schultz and Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger.[4]
[edit] Iraq
Iraq's army was primarily equipped with weaponry it had purchased from the Soviet Union and its satellites in the preceding decade. During the war, it purchased billions of dollars worth of advanced equipment from France, the People's Republic of China, Egypt, Germany, and other sources.[5]
The United States sold Iraq over $200 million in helicopters, which were used by the Iraqi military in the war. These were the only direct U.S.-Iraqi military sales. At the same time, the CIA began covertly directing non-U.S. origin hardware to Saddam Hussein's armed forces, "to ensure that Iraq had sufficient military weapons, ammunition and vehicles to avoid losing the Iran-Iraq war."[6]
Germany, the U.S. and United Kingdom also provided "dual use" technology that allowed Iraq to expand its missile program and radar defenses.
According to an uncensored copy of Iraq's 11,000-page declaration to the U.N., leaked to Die Tageszeitung and reported by The Independent, the know-how and material for developing unconventional weapons were obtained from 150 foreign companies, from countries such as West Germany, the U.S., France, UK, and the People's Republic of China.[7]
Iraq's main financial backers were the oil-rich Persian Gulf states, most notably Saudi Arabia ($30.9 billion), Kuwait ($8.2 billion) and the United Arab Emirates ($8 billion).[8]
The Iraqgate scandal revealed that an Atlanta branch of Italy's largest bank, Banca Nazionale del Lavoro, relying largely on U.S. taxpayer-guaranteed loans, funneled $5 billion to Iraq from 1985 to 1989.
[edit] Table
| Country | Foreign policy | Support to Iraq | Support to Iran |
|---|---|---|---|
 Soviet Union |
The Soviet Union and the Iran–Iraq War | Soviet support for Iraq during the Iran–Iraq war | Soviet support for Iran during the Iran–Iraq war |
 United States |
United States support for Iraq during the Iran–Iraq war | ||
 Saudi Arabia |
Saudi support for Iraq during the Iran–Iraq war | ||
 Israel |
Israeli support for Iran during the Iran–Iraq war | ||
 Singapore |
Singapore support for Iraq during the Iran–Iraq war | ||
 Italy |
Italian support for Iraq during the Iran–Iraq war | ||
 United Kingdom |
British support for Iraq during the Iran–Iraq war | ||
 France |
French support for Iraq during the Iran–Iraq war | ||
 North Korea |
North Korean support for Iran during the Iran–Iraq war |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ }Steinberg, Dana, The 1980-1988 Iran–Iraq War: A CWIHP [Cold War International History Project Critical Oral History Conference], Cold War International History Project of the Woodrow Wilson International Project for Scholars, the Middle East Program, and the National Security Archive of George Washington University, http://www.wilsoncenter.org/index.cfm?topic_id=1409&fuseaction=topics.item&news_id=90411
- ^ "Exclusive: Saddam key in early CIA plot", by Richard Sale, UPI, April 10, 2003
- ^ George Crile, "Charlie Wilson's War", 2003, Grove Press, p. 275
- ^ Engelberg, Stephen (23 February 1987), "C.I.A. Nominee tied to '85 Memo urging Iran Arms Deals", New York Times
- ^ Timmerman, Kenneth R. The Death Lobby: How the West Armed Iraq. New York, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1991.
- ^ Statement by former NSC official Howard Teicher to the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida. Plain text version
- ^ Paterson, Tony. Leaked Report Says German and US Firms Supplied Arms to Saddam The Independent. December 18, 2002.
- ^ Iraq debt: non-Paris Club creditors
