22 September 1980 Iraqi airstrike on Iran

{{Infobox operational plan

| name = 22 September 1980 Iraqi airstrike on Iran

| alt = Photograph of the city and trees with an explosion on the horizon

| image = Iran_Iraq_War_Start_Attack_on_Tehran_Airport_1980-09-22.jpg

| caption = Explosion in Mehrabad Air Base in Tehran after Iraqi forces attacked Tehran on September 22, 1980 starting the eight-year Iran-Iraq war.

| scope =

| type = Military strike

| location = Iran

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| planned =

| planned_by = Mohamed Jessam al-Jeboury

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| target = Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force

| date = {{Start date|1980|9|22|df=y}}

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| executed_by = {{flagicon|Iraq|1963}} Iraqi Armed Forces

| outcome = Iraqi operational failure

Iranian Air Force largely unharmed

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On 22 September 1980, the Iraqi Air Force launched a surprise airstrike on Iran, marking the beginning of the Iran–Iraq War.{{cite news |last1=MacManus |first1=James |title=From the archive, 23 September 1980: Open war as Iraq bombs Iran |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/23/iran-iraq-war-1980-archive |access-date=16 January 2023 |work=The Guardian |date=23 September 1980}}

Background

Impressed by the success of the Israeli Operation Focus during the Six-Day War, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein ordered his generals to prepare a pre-emptive strike on the Iranian Air Force, despite the shortcomings of the Iraqi Air Force.{{cite book |last1=Razoux |first1=Pierre |title=The Iran-Iraq War |date=2015 |publisher=Harvard University Press, 2015 |isbn=978-0674915718 |page=21-22 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FGsuCwAAQBAJ}}{{cite book|isbn=978-0813309552|title=The Lessons of Modern War: Volume Two – The Iran-Iraq Conflict|first1=Anthony H.|last1=Cordesman|first2=Abraham|last2=Wagner|year=1990|page=[https://archive.org/details/lessonsofmodernw02cord/page/102 102]|publisher=Westview Press|url=https://archive.org/details/lessonsofmodernw02cord/page/102}}

Operation

At noon, 192 Iraqi aircraft took off from various airbases across Iraq and headed east toward Iran. The first planes to reach their targets were Su-20s from Kirkuk Airbase. Bombing the Hamadan Airbase at 1:45 PM, these raids caused damages to the airbase runway. Within the next few minutes, other Iraqi aircraft reached airbases in Tabriz, Dezful, Bushehr, Kermanshah, Ahwaz, and Sanandaj, but they failed to cause significant damages to the Iranian airbases.Razoux, p. 23-26.{{cite book |last1=Cooper |first1=Tom |last2=Bishop |first2=Farzad |title=Iran-Iraq War in the Air, 1980-1988 |date=2002 |publisher=Schiffer Military History, 2002 |isbn=0764316699 |pages=72–110 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=974uAQAAIAAJ}}

At 2:20 PM, five Iraqi Tu-22 heavy bombers flew over the Iranian capital, Tehran, at very low altitude. They bombed the Mehrabad International Airport and the air force command's barracks, although the latter missed its target. At 2:30 PM, four Tu-16 heavy bombers reached the Isfahan airbase, housing half of the Iranian Grumman F-14 Tomcat fleet. The aircraft released their bombs but failed to destroy the runway. At 2:40 PM, the last four Tu-22s reached the Shiraz Airbase, housing the other half of the Iranian F-14s. The bombers targeted the runway and a fuel depot but failed to destroy any aircraft.

By the day's end, the results of 250 missions flown were slim, with only four enemy planes destroyed versus five planes lost. The Iranian Air Force emerged from this operation, designed to permanently ground it, unharmed. Most of the craters left by Iraqi bombs were filled during the night. By morning, the principal Iranian air bases were operational again.