The Iran-Iraq War, which ended in August 1988, one month short of its eighth anniversary, was one of the longest, bloodiest and costliest Third World armed conflicts in the twentieth century. Professor Karsh addresses the causes of the Iran-Iraq War, unpacking the objectives of the two belligerents and examining how far objectives were matched by strategy. He assesses the war's military lessons regarding such key areas as strategy, tactics and escalation and in particular the use of non-conventional weapons, Finally, he examines the utility of armed force as an instrument of foreign policy.

Efraim Karsh is Professor of Political Studies at Bar-Ilan University and Professor Emeritus of Middle East and Mediterranean Studies at King's College London. A former director of the Middle East Forum, he is editor of Middle East Quarterly and Israel Affairs, and is writing A History of the Jewish People, published by Bloomsbury in 2018.