The Iran Iraq War
Iraq launched a full-scale invasion of Iran on 22nd September 1980, signalling the start of the Iran Iraq War. Iraq's President, Saddam Hussein (pictured addressing troops), blamed Iran for several territorial disputes plus an alleged assassination attempt on Foreign Minister Tariq Aziz earlier in the year. As a result he ordered the surprise invasion, which resulted in Iraq's advance along a wide frontline into Iran. Within a few months, however, Iran had regained virtually all the territory they'd lost, and were on the offensive for the next six years.

The war finally ended in August 1988. When he agreed to accept the ceasefire, Iranian Ayatollah Khomeini likened it to 'drinking a cup of poison'. It's estimated that more than a million people died in the conflict.