The first direct combat between American and Iranian forces did not come in 2025 — it came in the late 1980s, in the Persian Gulf, during the closing years of the Iran–Iraq War.
The War Itself
Saddam Hussein invaded Iran in September 1980, expecting a quick victory over a revolution-weakened neighbour. Instead he got eight years of trench warfare, chemical weapons attacks, missile strikes on cities and roughly a million casualties — one of the deadliest wars since 1945. It ended in 1988 with a UN-brokered ceasefire and no border changes.
Where Washington Stood
Officially neutral, the US tilted toward Iraq — restoring diplomatic ties with Baghdad, sharing battlefield intelligence and extending credits — while (in the Iran–Contra scandal of 1985–86) secretly and illegally selling arms to Iran to fund Nicaraguan rebels. The contradiction captures the era: containment of revolutionary Iran was the strategic priority, pursued by almost any means.
The Tanker War
Both belligerents attacked Gulf shipping to strangle each other's oil exports. When Iran targeted Kuwaiti tankers, the US reflagged them under the American flag and escorted convoys (Operation Earnest Will, 1987) — putting the US Navy directly in Iran's path through the Strait of Hormuz.
- USS Stark (May 1987): an Iraqi missile mistakenly struck the frigate, killing 37 US sailors — yet US pressure stayed aimed at Iran.
- Operation Praying Mantis (April 1988): after the USS Samuel B. Roberts hit an Iranian mine, the US Navy destroyed Iranian oil platforms and sank or crippled several Iranian warships — the largest US surface naval battle since World War II.
Iran Air Flight 655
On 3 July 1988, the cruiser USS Vincennes, engaged with Iranian gunboats, shot down Iran Air Flight 655, a civilian Airbus on a scheduled flight to Dubai, killing all 290 aboard, including 66 children. The US called it a tragic misidentification and later paid compensation without admitting legal liability. In Iran, it is remembered as deliberate — and it weighed on Khomeini's decision weeks later to accept the ceasefire he likened to "drinking poison."
Why This Chapter Matters Now
The Tanker War is the template every Hormuz crisis is measured against: mines, small-boat swarms, convoy escorts, and the demonstration that Iran will harass Gulf shipping under pressure but cannot close the strait against the US Navy — themes we analyse in Strait of Hormuz closure scenarios. It also seeded Iran's doctrine of asymmetric naval warfare and its missile program — built precisely because Iran stood alone against superior conventional force.
This article is part of a 20-part analysis series on the Iran–USA conflict covering the complete history, the June 2025 war, the Strait of Hormuz, oil markets, global inflation and future scenarios. Facts reflect the situation as of early 2026.
