ABSTRACT
International strife within the Persian Gulf region represents a congeries of conflicts. In 1945-1946 the Soviet Union encouraged secession of Azerbaijan from Iran. The United States withdrew military forces by the end of 1945 as did the United Kingdom by February 1946. Soviet troops remained and encouraged separatist and communist movements within Iranian Kurdistan and Azerbaijan. Rebellious army units combined with Shammar tribesmen seized the Iraqi town of Mosul near the Syrian border during the first week of March 1959. The Iraqi government counterattacked Barzani positions late that year and continued to do so until 1970. Iraqi air forces also raided Kurdish villages and border posts within Turkey in July–August 1962. Iranian artillery and raiding parties attacked Iraqi positions near the Shatt-al-Arab beginning in mid-January 1972 following numerous minor border incidents. On March 20, 1973, Iraqi troops seized Kuwaiti border posts at Sametah near disputed islands in the Persian Gulf.
