War of the Cities

War of the Cities
Part of the Iran–Iraq War
A map indicating the attacks on civilian areas of Iran, Iraq, and Kuwait targeted during the War of the Cities
Date February 7 to 22, 1984 March 22 to April 8, 1985 January 17 to 25, 1987 February to April 1987 January to February 1988 Location Iran, Iraq, Kuwait Result Iraqi victory
Belligerents
Iraqi Air Force	Iranian Air Force
Commanders and leaders
Saddam Hussein	Ruhollah Khomeini
Casualties and losses
Tens of thousands of civilians killed on both sides

The War of the Cities was five series of air raids, missile attacks and artillery shellings on major cities and urban areas initiated by Saddam Hussein's Iraqi Air Force, with the aim of disrupting the morale of Iran during the Iran–Iraq War. The first phase of air strikes were undertaken by the Iraqi Air Force, which normally was followed by retaliation by the Iranian Armed Forces.

Iraq attacked major cities in the western half of Iran, including Tehran, Tabriz, Isfahan and Shiraz, in addition to attacks to Iranian towns and cities close to the front. Iran's retaliations targeted mostly Baghdad, Kirkuk and Basra.