Word: hussein
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...Ayatullah's dramatic about-face must have been all the more painful since it coincided with two anniversaries that are anathema to him. Last week marked the 20th anniversary of the revolt that brought to power Iraq's ruling secular Ba'athist regime, now headed by President Saddam Hussein. Last week was also the beginning of the hajj, the season of pilgrimage to the Saudi Arabian city of Mecca, Islam's holiest site. During last year's hajj, 275 Iranian visitors were killed by Saudi security forces in Mecca after provoking riots there. Their deaths prompted Khomeini to call...
...Eventually, it squeezed off the Shatt al Arab waterway in southern Iraq, the country's only entrance to the gulf. At one point in the conflict, Iran held large areas of territory, notably in southeastern Iraq, and tried to establish an Islamic Republic of Iraq that would replace Hussein's government...
...confounded the widespread prediction that the hostilities would not cease until he died. In the end, precisely the opposite may prove to be true. His departure is almost certain to open a period of political turmoil in Iran, with prolonged jockeying for position by, among others, Rafsanjani and Ayatullah Hussein Ali Montazeri, Khomeini's designated successor. Iranian leaders may have realized that the old man alone possessed the power to extricate Iran from the war. "It was vital for Khomeini to move now," said a U.S. intelligence analyst. "After his death, there would be nobody with the authority to pull...
Iraqi soldiers also reclaimed a string of mountain peaks on the northeastern frontier, placing them in good position to recapture the strategic Kurdish city of Halabja. Iranian leaders tried to sound optimistic, but they could not hide the reversal of their fortunes. Said Prime Minister Mir Hussein Mousavi: "War is a complicated and technical matter, and naturally at a certain point retreat will help the final victory...
There were uncharacteristic calls for restraint from some Iranian leaders and their allies. Sheik Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, spiritual leader of the pro-Iranian Hizballah in Lebanon, urged that no harm come to the nine American hostages held by Muslim extremists. "I find no justification for making the hostages account for a matter to which they are not connected," Fadlallah said. Hashemi Rafsanjani, Iran's powerful and pragmatic Assembly speaker, last week warned against "some amateurish action" that might "remove the wave of propaganda that is now heaped on America's head." By showing moderation, the Iranians apparently hope to press...