page_title: Soviet involvement in the Iran–Iraq War
section_title: Air defense
hierarchical_section_title: Soviet involvement in the Iran–Iraq War / Support for Iraq / Air defense
caption_attribution_description: A U.S. military photo taken from http://www.nellis.af.mil/TTF/SA-6.htm "Information presented on this website is considered public information and may be distributed or copied - unless otherwise noted. Use of appropriate byline/photo/image credits is requested."
context_page_description: The policy of the Soviet Union towards the Iran–Iraq War of 1980 to 1988 varied, beginning with a stance of "strict neutrality" and moving towards massive military support for Iraq in the final phase of the war. The war was inconvenient for the USSR, which had aimed to ally itself with both Iran and Iraq. In the first period of the war, the Soviets declared a policy of "strict neutrality" towards the two countries, at the same time urging a negotiated peace. Iraq had been an ally for decades and the Soviets had tried to win over Iran as well, but their offers of friendship were rebuffed by the pro-Western Shah of Iran. After the Iranian revolution an Islamic Republic was established whose slogan was "neither East nor West". In 1982, the war turned in Iran's favour and the Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini pledged not to stop the conflict until he had overthrown the Iraqi president Saddam Hussein. Such a prospect was unacceptable to the Soviet Union, which now resumed arms sales to Iraq while still maintaining an official policy of neutrality. The Soviets also feared losing Saddam's friendship to the West.
context_section_description: Iranian pilots avoided Iraqi S-75 Dvina (NATO reporting name SA-2 GUIDELINE) and S-125 (NATO reporting name SA-3 GOA) anti-aircraft missiles using American tactics developed in Vietnam, though they were less successful against Iraqi SA-6s optimized for low and medium altitude engagements. "Iran's Western-made air defense system seemed more effective than Iraq's Soviet-made counterpart."
caption: SA-6 launcher in desert camouflage
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