Operation Samen - ol - A ' emeh Operation Samen - ol - A ' emeh ( Operation Eight Imam ) was an offensive of the Iran - Iraq war between 27 – 29 September 1981 where Iran broke the Iraqi Siege of Abadan . Prelude . see : Siege of Abadan Diversionary Attack . On September 22 , 1981 , Iran began their first successful offensive against Iraq , in order to break the Siege of Abadan . The attack began with a diversionary operation . A combined arms force of 30 - 40 , 000 troops attacked the Iraqi forces in a wide front around the Kharkeh River in Khuzestan province , Iran , aiming for the road towards Basra , Iraq . The Iranians used their regular army supported by Revolutionary Guard infantry , the former using small groups of armored vehicles with full artillery and air support ( the Iranians had air superiority , but limited aircraft due to lack of spare parts ) . The operation convinced Iraq that Basra was under attack , consequently they did not reinforce their troops surrounding Abadan . Main Attack . Two days later , Iran began to carry out their main offensive against Abadan . During the night , the Iranians infiltrated a force of 20 – 30 , 000 troops across the Bahmanshir River towards the Iraqi forces on the east bank of the Karun River around Abadan . The Iraqis failed to carry out adequate reconnaissance and discover the infiltration . The main attack was preceded by the Iranian air force carrying out airstrikes against the Iraqi troops between the Bahmanshir and the east bank of the Karun . Due to Iranian air superiority , the Iranians drove the counterattacking Iraqi jets away . On September 26 , the Iranians ground forces attacked . The Iraqis were pinned down in their strongest positions , while their weakest positions were torn through , resulting in the isolation of many Iraqi forces . Iraq failed to maneuver their forces against the Iranians , and they stood in their static positions . An Iranian armored battalion cut the enemy forces in two , while AH - 1 Cobra helicopters destroyed numerous Iraqi tanks using TOW missiles . Meanwhile , the siege of Abadan was broken , yet many Iraqi forces remained across the east bank of the Karun River , prevented from retreating after the Iranian air force bombed the bridges across the Karun River . The next phase of the battle came when the Iranians unleashed their 92nd Armored Division on the north side of the Iraqi positions on September 27 . The Iraqi command had been driven into a panic , and attempted a tactical withdrawal , which turned into a rout . The Iraqis abandoned their heavy weaponry , and fled across the river on a makeshift pontoon bridge and rafts . Aftermath . Iran had scored a decisive victory . With a carefully planned operation and well executed use of their available materials , the Iranians routed a theoretically superior opponent . Nevertheless , on September 30 , many important military commanders from the battle were killed when their C - 130 Hercules crashed , including Mostapha Chamran . They had been instrumental with integration of the pre - revolutionary regular army ' s forces and the new Revolutionary Guards forces . In subsequent battles , on numerous occasions the combatants displayed a lack of coordination . The victory at Abadan an important morale booster for Iran , and was an important stepping stone for the eventual ejection of the Iraqis from Iran . Bibliography . http : / / books . google . com / books ? id = dUHhTPdJ6yIC & pg = PT835 & lpg = PT835 & dq = Siege + of + Abadan + iran + at + war + 1500 - 1988 & source = bl & ots = LrQ7H19IGb & sig = yWGgtXE6iaBzCjYgduiL _ 38ec3k & hl = en & sa = X & ei = d - 6CUdviEKrr0gG3vIHADw & ved = 0CEQQ6AEwBA