978-1-4222-3442-6

F OREIGN R ELATIONS 109

The warnings were particularly directed at its two largest neigh- bors, Iran and Turkey. I RAQ , I RAN , AND T URKEY Although Iraq shares borders with both Iran and Turkey, the peo- ple of these three countries are separated by ethnicity, language, and culture. Throughout history, the area of modern-day Iraq was ruled by both Persian dynasties and by the Ottoman Empire. As a result, there remains some resentment toward Iraq’s neighbors. In 1979 strong-willed leaders came to power in both Iran and Iraq. Saddam Hussein had been one of the most powerful members of Iraq’s Baath Party for more than a decade, but he seized total control of the government in a bloody purge. At the same time, in Iran, the government of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was being shaken. The shah, whose regime was supported by the United States, could not stop demonstrations and protests held through- out the country during much of 1978. When he fled Iran, a Shiite religious leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, seized power and established a theocratic state. The new Iranian government was very hostile toward the United States, which Khomeini called “the Great Satan.” The Iranian revolution posed a threat for Saddam Hussein and his secular dictatorship, particularly as Khomeini began to urge Shiites in other countries of the Middle East to rise up against their governments. Saddam feared that Iraq’s majority Shiite pop- ulation would join forces with Iran if the new theocracy were able to export its revolution. There was a personal element as well. In 1964 Khomeini had been forced into exile from Iran; he settled in the Iraqi city of An Najaf, an important Shiite religious center. However, during the 1978 unrest in Iran, the shah asked the Iraqi government to expel Khomeini, who was inciting the public uprisings. Saddam was