The Iran-Iraq War began in September 1981, when Iraq’s air force launched a surprise attack against Iran. The conflict could have ended 20 months later, with satisfactory conditions for Iran, including compensation and Iraq’s recognition of the post-1975 border. But Ayatollah Khomeini and the ruling mullahs, to satisfy their messianic ambitions, continued the hostilities. The conflict dragged on another six years, becoming the longest conventional war in the 20th century and one of the most devastating in terms of casualties and costs.1
At the war’s beginning, the People’s Mojahedin rushed to the front to defend the Iranian public. But after Iraq withdrew its military forces from Iranian territory and sued for peace the resistance organization opposed the mullahs’ continuation of the war. With Saddam wanting to end the conflict and region countries prepared to help pay compensation to Iran, a just solution was in reach. Khomeini rejected the overture and thus is responsible for continuing the war at a terrible cost to the Iranian people.
This website details the mullahs’ obsession to topple Iraq and install an Islamic republic. It shows how the mullahs used the war to solidify their power. It describes the People’s Mojahedin’s initiatives to end the conflict. And it recounts the creation of the Liberation Army of Iran (NLA) and its battles against Khomeini’s forces to rid the country of the ruthless theocracy and bring democracy to Iran.