Iran-Iraq WarThe eight-year Iran-Iraq War was, by the standards of international conflict, very long. It lasted longer than both the First and Second World Wars. In this conflict, the two most powerful states of the Persian Gulf, Iran and Iraq, which were the world's largest oil producers, were engaged in mortal combat and seemed intent on destroying each other. The war began when Iraq invaded Iran, simultaneously launching an air and ground invasion of Iranian territory in September 1980, and ended with a UN-brokered ceasefire in 1988. The causes of the war are deeply rooted in ideology and ambitions of countries' leaders to gain and maintain control over domestic and regional politics, as well as concerns about internal security, which was linked to notions of nationalism and territorial boundaries. The leaders' personal ambitions were to consolidate their political power at home and project an image of strength in the region that would ensure dominance over neighboring countries. Saddam Hussein, during the mid-1970s, had formally secured his position as leader of Iraq. His regime was fundamentally secular, although he sometimes tried to appeal to the religious feelings of all Iraqis. Saddam envisioned himself as a great leader and modernizer who would transform Iraq into the leading state of the Middle East. During this period, Iraq's main rival for regional dominance was its neighbor Iran, and Iran seemed vulnerable due to the Iranian revolution, which was occurring in this time period, and which was not yet over. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini was still on the verge of becoming Iran's undisputed leader, but he hadn't yet... middle of the paper... 4. "Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988)." GlobalSecurity.org - Trusted security information. Network. 09 May 2011. .5. Karsh, Ephraim (2002). The Iran-Iraq War, 1980-1988. Osprey Publishing. P. 22.6. Levy, Jack S. and William R. Thompson. Causes of the war. Chichester, West Sussex, UK: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010.7. "The Iran-Iraq War and Weapons of Mass Destruction." Conservative blogs, websites and media outlets. Network. 09 May 2011. .8. "The Iran-Iraq War". Jewish Virtual Library - Homepage. Network. 09 May 2011. .9. Worker, Thom. THE SOCIAL ORIGINS OF THE IRAN-IRAQ WAR. March 1991. Web. .10. http://www.oup.com/uk/orc/bin/9780199289783/01student/cases/iran_iraq_war.pdf