The PMOI established base at Ashraf in 1986. The refugees began on a barred land with no facilities, paved road or running water. The members of PMOI built it into a modern city with a complex of roads and buildings with many educational, social, medical and sports facilities, manufacturing and agricultural works, and even having a university. According to the U.S. State Department, the MEK was then welcomed into Iraq, where it supported Saddam Hussein's war against Iran (1980–88).