Background:Following the liberation of Khorramshahr in June1982,despite Iran’s achievement of a decisive military victory that could have paved the way for an end to the war, the conflict did not come to a close.Instead, it entered a more protracted and attritional phase.
Objective:This study seeks to explain why the war continued after the liberation of Khorramshahr and why the military victory did not translateinto a political settlemen
Methods:Adopting a historical-analytical approach, this study examines library sources,archival documents, official reports, and newspapers published during the period under investigation.It then analyzes the continuation of the war across three domains—the domestic situation inIran, conditions in Iraq, and the regional and international environment—drawing on Allison’s and Jervis’s approaches to decision-making and the logic of process tracing.
Results:The findings indicate that the continuation of the war resulted from the interaction of several interrelated factors:changes in perceptions of power and the prospects for victory in Iran;a shift in military strategy from defense and the liberation of occupied territories to crossing the international border and pursuing the aggressor;and the gradual expansion of the political objectives and conditions for ending the war.Iraq’s military reconstitution, support from regional and extra-regional actors, and constraints on diplomatic initiatives also made it more difficult to reach a credible agreement.
Conclusion:The continuation of the war resulted from the interplay of strategic change, the expansion of political objectives,perceptions of military capability, and shifts in the regional and international environment.These factors widened the gap between the victory at Khorramshahr and the eventual end of thewar.