How many Gulf wars have there been: the history of conflicts in the Persian Gulf from 1980 to today

The current war in Iran and the Middle East is not the first international conflict in the Persian Gulf region: it is no coincidence that we are talking about “Third Gulf War”. For several decades the Persian Gulf has been the scene of wars and conflicts. The reasons are to be found both in the ethnic-religious tensionswith related hegemonic aspirations, of the countries in the area, both in the interference by the main powers, first of all the United States and its allies, interested in oil and other resources in the area. Let’s examine the major conflicts of recent years, which preceded the current conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran:

• there war between Iran and Iraq of the years 1980-1988;
• there Gulf War of 1990-1991;
• there war in Iraq (or Second Gulf War) of 2003;
• the conflicts in which the State of Israel is involved.

The Persian Gulf and international tensions: geopolitical context

The Persian Gulf, as we know, is located between the Arabian Peninsula and Central Asia. They overlook its western bank seven Arab countries: Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar and Oman; the eastern shore is completely occupied by Iran.

The Gulf has been affected by geopolitical disputes and wars for a long time. It is in fact a particularly important area from an economic point of view, because the countries bordering its shores are rich in oil reserves, and because it constitutes a maritime route of primary importance for the transport of resources. Furthermore, they exist among the populations of the area ethnic and religious tensions. In Arab countries the majority of the population is Sunni confession (the majority confession of Islam), while the Iranians, in addition to not being Arabs but Persians, are of confession Shia (main Islamic denomination after Sunni).

Below is a brief summary of the main wars fought from the 1980s to today.

Iran-Iraq War (1980-88)

The war between Iran and Iraq is lasted from 1980 to 1988. Both countries intended to exercise hegemony over the area and in 1980 Iraq, led by the dictator Saddam Husseininvaded Iranian territory for obtain a change in boundaries. The law had recently been established in Iran Islamic republicled by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who resisted the invasion. Iraq enjoyed the support of the United States, but, nevertheless, Iranian troops, after being forced to retreat, they recovered their lost territories. Both armies used chemical weapons and conducted the operations with extreme brutality.

The victims were very numerous: the number of deaths was between 500,000 and one million. The war ended in 1988 with a UN-brokered ceasefire, which left the borders almost unchanged.

First Gulf War (1990-91)

The first Gulf War broke out in 1990, when Iraq invaded and occupied the emirate of Kuwaitannexing the territory. Saddam Hussein ordered the invasion because Iraq was heavily weakened indebted for the war against Iran and, in addition to not wanting to pay the debts contracted with Kuwait, he intended to appropriate its resources. The Iraqi army easily defeated the Kuwaiti armed forces. The international community, however, reacted heavily: at the instigation of the United States, led by the president George HW Bushone was formed coalition of 35 stateswhich attacked Iraq in January 1991. The United States found itself in a position of strength: it had effectively defeated the Soviet Union (which dissolved in 1991) in the Cold War and remained the only superpower. They could therefore attack without worrying about international reactions. Not all public opinion, however, supported the war: in all the countries involved there was an opposing component, according to which the The real reason for the attack was oil.

The military operations, however, took place as planned. Among the states that participated were Italy, various European countries and some Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia. The coalition conducted a aerial bombing campaignlasting more than a month.

On February 24, after Iraqi defenses had been destroyed, ground troops invaded Kuwait, liberating the country from occupation and ensuring his independence again. The soldiers, however, did not penetrate deeply into Iraqi territory, because the UN mandate only provided for the liberation of Kuwait, and they left Saddam in power.

Second Gulf War (2003)

The second Gulf War, also known as the Iraq war, broke out in 2003. The country was in disastrous conditions: after the 1991 war the United States had imposed harsh economic sanctionswhich had caused a profound humanitarian crisis. Furthermore, ethnic-religious tensions and conflicts had exploded within the country Kurdish and Shiite minorities they had been victims of brutal repression by Saddam’s government.

It broke out in 2003. The United States, led by George W. Bush (son of the president of the first Gulf War) and still shaken because two years earlier they had been hit by the attacks of September 11, 2001, they accused Iraq of supporting terrorism and possessing weapons of mass destruction. The accusations were unfounded: none of the terrorists who carried out the September 11 attacks were Iraqi nor were there any links between the Baghdad government and al-Qaeda. Furthermore, it was not true that Saddam’s regime had started the production of weapons of mass destructionas the United States had declared.

The fact is that the American troops, supported by British, Polish and Australian contingents, on March 20, 2003 they invaded the country. On April 9, they conquered Baghdad and overthrew Saddam’s regime (who was captured a few months later and executed in 2006).

For Iraq began a phase of profound political instability and a humanitarian crisis, which continued even after 2011, when the United States withdrew its troops.

Israeli operations and the possible Third Gulf War

In addition to the main wars, they took place in the Persian Gulf other military operationspartly due to the rivalry between some coastal countries, Iran and Iraq, and the State of Israel. The Israelis have attacked Iraq in 1981, carrying out an aerial bombardment to destroy a nuclear reactor. Furthermore, it has been developing for several years a sort of low intensity war between Iran and Israelconducted with intelligence operations and support for armed militias. Until 2023, however, the two countries they never faced each other directly. In 2024 Israel attacked the Iranian consulate in Damascus and killed a Hamas leader in Tehran. Iran responded in both cases attacking Israeli territory with missiles and drones. In 2025, Israel, together with the United States, attacked Iran again in the Twelve Day War.