The Iran–Iraq War, called the "Sacred Defense" in Iran, began — per the official Iranian account — on 22 September 1980 with a full-scale invasion by the Ba'athist Iraqi army. Days earlier Saddam Hussein had unilaterally torn up the 1975 Algiers Accord and launched land, air and naval operations; the opening strikes hit Mehrabad and Tabriz airports and other sensitive sites.
In the first months Iraqi forces advanced to Khorramshahr and Abadan and occupied part of Khuzestan. In the Iranian narrative, popular resistance and mobilization halted the advance, and after operations such as Thamen-ol-A'emmeh and Tariq al-Quds, Operation Beit-ol-Moqaddas (May 1982) liberated Khorramshahr — regarded as the war's turning point and a symbol of victory.
Major operations followed — Val-Fajr, Kheibar, Badr and Karbala-5 — on the southern and western axes. The war lasted eight years and ended in August 1988 with the acceptance of UN Security Council Resolution 598. The official Iranian narrative frames the period as a legitimate defense against aggression and a symbol of national steadfastness, commemorated each year.
Compiled from the official narrative and sources of the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRNA, Tasnim, Fars, Mehr, Defa Press, Sepah News). Assessments of these topics differ across sources; this entry reflects the official Iranian narrative.