On 22nd September, 1980, Iraq launched a full-scale invasion of Iran. Iraq had hoped for a swift victory against its neighbour, which was weakened by its recent Islamic revolution and international isolation. However, the war dragged on.

• The attack on Iran in 1980 was a clear contravention of Article 2(4) of the United Nations Charter and customary international law prohibiting wars of aggression.

• In 1983 the Iraqi armed forces used poison gas against Iranian troops.

• The Iraqi regime also launched indiscriminate attacks on civilian targets, including the deployment of missiles against Iranian cities as a deliberate terror tactic.

• The Iraqi regime was responsible for significant breaches of Geneva Convention (III) Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War (12th August 1949), including the use of prisoners as human shields and submitting them to physical and mental torture.

The war finally ended through a United Nations-brokered agreement in August 1988 after more than 1 million people had been killed.