The two Kheibar and Badr Operations were militarily valuable but did not have much effect on the fate of the war. The Iraqi army's use of internationally banned chemical weapons increased since the start of the Kheibar Operation. This was while Iran did not have the necessary equipment to defend itself against these weapons.

After the crushing defeat of Saddam's army in Badr Operation, the supporters of the Iraqi dictator were startled, so they decided to speed up the equipment of the invading regime of Saddam Iraq. Thus, Saddam's army was provided with a new wave of state-of-the-art arms and ammunitions and Iraq deployed more troops on the battlefields. Saddam decided to extend the war to the cities and towns on the one hand and use chemical weapons on the battlefields on the other hand. This was aimed at affecting the Iranian nation's morale and public opinion, to weaken the combatants' resolve and create a psychological pressure on the Iranian officials to end the war. Moreover, the Iraqi army was trying by attacking Khark Island and oil installations, to disrupt the economic system, which mainly relied on revenues from oil exports. Saddam hoped to paralyze Iran in continuation of war and bring it to its knees as it would fail to fulfill the needs of the people. Under such circumstances, Iran was still looking for a decisive operation to end the war powerfully, but Saddam was exerting his utmost not to be defeated.

In the interval after the Badr Operation, it was necessary to keep the fronts active and not let the enemy free. Therefore, in 1985, part of the military attacks against the Ba'athist enemy were based on small-scale offensives in limited areas, so that, the great operation of Valfajr 8 and the seizure of Faw could be properly designed in due time. It was also stipulated that the range of operations should be limited in such a way to minimize the likelihood of delay in the course of action. After a number of limited offensives mainly in the wetland, the Ba'athist army was severely scared and unstable. This caused the Iraqi army to rebuild its defensive positions.

The continuation of the war made it clearer the need to increase combat power. The development of the combat power seemed to require heavy equipment, much expenses and long time. But the IRGC, with minimal facilities, light weapons and personal equipment, succeeded to expand itself quickly and enhance its combat power. Having finished the Badr Operation, the IRGC provided long-term plans within the framework of development of a number of combat units, which, in the eyes of the country's officials, required huge human and financial forces and a few years to materialize. The plans were presented to the commander of the war to expand the combat power of the brave forces. But the financial and economic facilities of the country did not allow the expansion of the IRGC military units. Thus, senior officials told the war commanders to fight with the existing facilities.

The development of Iran's combat power could have brought about a change in the balance of power on the front and made new victories for Iran. The great leader of the Islamic Revolution Imam Khomeini concluded that there should be a huge transformation in organizing and enhancing the country's combat power with the help of the existing capabilities of the IRGC. The endeavour to determine the fate of the war by Iran required a major and effective operation. But Saddam's western and eastern supporters, following the surprising operation of the Iranian forces, came to the conclusion that there was a need for political action in the international arena to pressure the Islamic Republic of Iran. The increased victories of the Islamic Republic, culminating in the liberation of Khorramshahr, led the two superpowers in those days to focus on Saddam in order to provide the conditions for imposing an unjust peace on the Islamic Republic. Thus, the west's determination and the insistence on maintaining Saddam in any possible way on one hand; and the resolve of the Islamic Republic to achieve its objectives in the war and not submit to the unjust peace on the other hand, resulted in a state of war of attrition for a while.

The Global Arrogance, spearheaded by the US, tried to undermine the Islamic Republic of Iran's ability to carry out decisive moves to shape the fate of the war. Indeed, safeguarding Saddam's power and preventing Iran from attaining its aspirations was the strategy of the supporters of the Iraqi regime to keep the balance of power. Hence, bolstering the capabilities of Iraqi army, especially those of the air force, was placed on the agenda of the Global Arrogance. Western regimes resorted to whatever means possible in order to prevent Iran from achieving any success; as it had shaken the regime of Baghdad to its foundations and facilitated the spread of the Islamic Revolution and the culture of resistance to the region and beyond. On this basis, the western bloc adopted the diplomacy of pressure and in this process, Saddam's regime was under the direct support and control of the west while the Islamic Republic was under an all-out pressure and smear campaign by the mainstream media.

Saddam's western and eastern supporters made up their mind to help the dictator of Baghdad in four basic realms: firstly, providing advanced technology to the Ba'athist regime especially in the domain of the air force; secondly, providing the regime with AWACS radar system and spying agencies; thirdly, detecting Iran's tactics and capabilities, and granting that information to the Ba'athist regime in Iraq. This was accomplished through the propaganda, political and economic support of the west and its minions in the region, i.e. the reactionary Arab regimes of the Persian Gulf.

The Ba'athist enemy was able to disrupt in the advancement of the Iranian combatants into the Iraqi territory for a while, with the enhancement of its combat organization to 50 divisions, expansion of minefields, barriers and fortifications, as well as preventing the stabilization and securing of the Iraqi liberated regions. However, as time passed and the Islamic Republic's capabilities increased, the design of operations in various geographical situations (plain, mountain, water, sand, etc.), the organization of forces and the expansion of combat formation led to destabilization of Saddam's regime.

FK/RM/ME