Iran-Iraq Naval War V1 - Opening Blows September-November 1980
Tom Cooper, Sirous Ebrahimi & E. R. HootonDuring the first year of the Iran-Iraq War, Iranian naval activity began to prove decisive for the country’s ability to continue waging the war. Not only was its primary point of exporting crude oil – Khark Island – in the northern Persian Gulf, but Iran became heavily dependent on hauling reinforcements and supplies from ports in the lower and central Gulf, foremost Bandar-e Abbas and Bushehr, to the modern and huge port of Bandar-e Khomeyni in the north. This in turn prompted the Iraqis to attempt interrupting both of these flows. Iraq deployed the full spectrum of their arsenal including the Aéorspatiale AM.39 Exocet anti-ship missile, which saw its first combat deployment at least six months before its use during the Falklands War. However, much of this story this has remained unknown beyond superficial insight into the ‘Tanker War’.