In this extract from his new book, Flashpoints, Michael Napier outlines the first nine days of the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war
At 1200hrs Baghdad time (1330hrs in Tehran) September 22, 1980, every available combat aircraft of the Iraqi Air Force (IQAF) crossed the border into Iran. Their mission was to keep the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF) and Iranian army aviation on the ground by destroying all the runways and aircraft operating surfaces in western Iran.