{"version":"1.0","type":"rich","provider_name":"Acast","provider_url":"https://acast.com","height":250,"width":700,"html":"","title":"Iran-Iraq War - Part 4: Basra under siege and the war’s turning point","description":"The years of bloodshed had ground both armies down, but neither side was ready to quit. Now, in the winter of nineteen eighty-six, Iran set its sights on Basra, Iraq’s southern jewel. Victory seemed close.\r\n\r\nBefore dawn, Operation Karbala-5 began. Tens of thousands of Iranian fighters, from seasoned Pasdaran to teenage Basij volunteers, moved through the cold marshes north of Basra. Their boots sank into mud and icy water. Above them, rockets screamed, followed by a wall of artillery fire that lit up the night. The silence shattered as flares revealed broken earth and tangled wire. Iranian soldiers pressed forward, faces set, lips moving in silent prayer. Some stumbled. Others fell, caught by shrapnel or the silent killers—mines buried in the sludge. The air thickened with cordite, burning flesh, and the choking fumes of chemical weapons. Iraqi defenders answered with everything they had. Machine guns spat fire. Mortars fell without warning. Overhead, Iraqi jets dropped canisters of mustard gas, yellow clouds rolling over the marshes, seeping into every crack. Within the Iranian ranks, hope and dread mixed together. Some pressed on, desperate to end the war. Others faltered, overcome by terror as chemical burns ate through uniforms and skin. The wounded writhed in agony. Still, the promise of ending the war drove many forward.\r\n\r\nLearn more at: https://theconflictarchive.com/conflict/iran-iraq-war","author_name":"The Archive Network"}