Agent Use in the War With Iran

Despite Iranian charges that Iraq has been using chemical weapons throughout the war, Iraq used lethal chemical weapons only in three battles beginning in August 1983 (see figure 4). The Iraqi use of mustard and nerve agents occurred in mid-March 1984. Earlier press reports that Iraq was using lethal chemical weapons appear to have been based on sporadic Iraqi use of the riot control agent CS gas (“tear gas”), white phosphorous artillery rounds, and smoke rounds. Iran has not used lethal chemical weapons during the war, but has used CS gas in isolated instances [redacted]

We assess that Iraq had only small quantities of mustard and nerve agents available when the war with Iran began. The fighting, however, spurred Iraq to speed up the program, and by 1982 Iraq had begun producing significant quantities of mustard agent. [redacted remainder of paragraph]

Iraq had accumulated approximately 1,000 artillery shells filled with mustard agent when the Iranians mounted their first invasion of Iraq in July 1982. [redacted remainder of paragraph]

In August 1983 Iraq used a limited quantity of mustard agent against Iranian troops near Haj Umran in northern Iraq. The Iraqi attacks were very limited, however, and only a handful of Iranian soldiers were seriously injured. [redacted]

On 19 November 1983 Iraq used mustard agent for a second time during a major battle near Panjwin in northern Iraq. This time the Iraqis conducted a much larger attack with chemical weapons, firing several hundred shells filled with mustard agent at Iranian forces threatening to overrun Iraqi frontline positions. We believe several hundred Iranian troops were killed or severely wounded by the mustard gas. [redacted remainder of paragraph]

[redacted] On 28 February Iraq made heavy use of mustard agent during a counterattack against an estimated 15,000 Iranian troops holding the western shore of the Hawizah marsh north of Al Basrah. The Iranian troops, mostly poorly trained militia and unequipped to withstand a chemical attack, broke and fled back across the marsh. According to press reports, the Iranians claim some 2,500 of their troops were killed or severely wounded by mustard agent in this attack. [redacted]

As the battle north of Al Basrah continued, the Iraqis used mustard agent on at least two occasions in mid-March during attempts to retake the Majnoon Islands. Iran claims approximately 400 Iranian troops were killed or wounded in the two attacks. While Iraqi forces were able to advance following the first attack, their use of mustard agent was ineffective during the second assault. According to Iranian press reports, strong winds dispersed the mustard, decreasing its effectiveness. [redacted]

On 17 March Iraq became the first country to use nerve agents against conventional military forces. An Iraqi air attack on an Iranian staging area east of the Majnoon Islands [redacted remained of paragraph]

Iraq continues to stockpile nerve and mustard agent in significant quantities. Its chemical warfare capabilities probably will have a major impact on the war, especially during major offensives. Iranian infantry, particularly the poorly trained militia troops that constitute approximately half of Iran’s forces at the front, are especially susceptible to chemical agent attacks. Although Iran has devoted considerable effort since March to acquiring protective chemical gear, we doubt it has sufficient quantities or that its troops are sufficiently well trained to operate successfully in the face of large-scale Iraqi chemical agent attacks. [redacted]