A Comparative Analysis of the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988) and the 12-Day Iran-Israel War (2025)

This study employs a comparative analytical approach within the framework of security and war studies to examine two major conflicts involving the Islamic Republic of Iran: The Iran–Iraq War (1980–1988) and the 12-day war between Iran and Israel (2025). The study aimed to analyze the transformation in the nature of military conflicts, assess the strategic calculations of the involved actors, and evaluate the implications of these wars for Iran’s national security and geopolitical position. The findings indicate that both conflicts emerged from deep-seated political, ideological, and security tensions, and that the aggressors initiated hostilities due to miscalculations about Iran’s internal cohesion and deterrence capacity. In both cases, these assumptions proved inaccurate, resulting in the failure to achieve strategic objectives. A key finding of the study is the decisive role of political–religious leadership in crisis management, the preservation of social cohesion, and the effective coordination between military power and diplomacy. From a comparative perspective, the Iran–Iraq War represents a protracted, conventional, and attritional conflict characterized by extensive ground operations and high human casualties. In contrast, the twelve-day war reflects a contemporary model of short-duration warfare centered on active deterrence, advanced military technologies, long-range missile operations, and cyber and hybrid warfare, with no direct ground engagement. The study argues that the development of indigenous defense capabilities, reduced external dependency, and the effective integration of hard and soft power significantly constrained the scope of the conflict and imposed strategic costs on the adversary. Overall, the study concludes that national cohesion and effective leadership, as core components of national power, played a critical role in threat containment and in consolidating Iran’s strategic position within the regional security environment.