After almost eight years of bloody warfare, the Iran Iraq War was coming to an end under the United Nations Security Council Resolution 598, which was passed 20 July 1987. Iran had suffered several defeats in southern Iraq during the Second Battle of Al Faw and Operation Tawakalna ala Allah, and had decided to accept the UN ceasefire. However, made confident by recent Iraqi victories, Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein decided to violate the ceasefire agreement and launch a new invasion of Iran itself. The attack agreed upon by the Iraqi leadership would be a three pronged assault. The first would attack Khuzestan province in Iran (for the first time since 1982).
