Persian Gulf: Stalemate in a Forgotten War

With no end in sight, Iran and Iraq struggle drearily on

Ugly plumes of black smoke hung over the huge Iranian oil refinery in Abadan last week. Just two miles away, Iraqi artillery units kept firing shells into the besieged port at the head of the Persian Gulf. Iraqi MiG-23s swooped overhead in bombing raids, drawing intense antiaircraft fire. One MiG-23, spewing smoke, crashed near Basra, inside Iraq. Huddled behind sandbags or in the ravaged interiors of buildings, the Iranians are conducting an incessant artillery duel with the enemy. Although Iraq held...

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