Second Iran-Iraq War of 2006

In this timeline, the United States cannot convince the world that an invasion of Iraq would be reasonable and does not invade in 2003. Iran overtime becomes uncomfortable with the United States right on their border (Afghanistan), ousts the moderate government under Khatami, and elects radical Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Saddam Hussein and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's governments become locked in constant political disagreements, eventually leading to a full scale war like that of the 1980s. How long would the war last? Syria would support Iran again but, what would be the United States' reaction be? Supporting either side would lead to future problems for the United States. Would the war have any impact on the Arab Spring? Present day, would Putin be on Iran's side or Iraq's side?
 

Germaniac

Donor
By this time I think it's more likely Syria would at least be neutral. Iraq simply would not have the military capacity to fight Iran... Iranian troops in Baghdad within a year.
 
I suspect that by 2006 the embargoes against it will be gone since Russia and China were pushing for that in the early 2000s. Iraq wouldn't necessarily do as badly since Saudi Arabia would support it out of fear for Iran, not to mention other Gulf States. At this point Iraq is the lesser of two evils to the Saudis and other Arab countries.
 
2006? Not going to happen. Both countries were under some serious embaragoes and even if they are lifted it will take years to bring their miltiaries to comparable levels to what they were in 1980.

But that's unlikely to happen so soon after 9/11 anyway.
 
The Iranians actually have a functioning military that hasn't been completely wrecked by revolution and purges this this time around. Iraq's military by 2003 was even more grossly decrepit then it had been before the Gulf War and three extra years isn't going to change that. Iraq gets it's ass kicked. Only US intervention would save Saddam.

Iraq wouldn't necessarily do as badly since Saudi Arabia would support it out of fear for Iran, not to mention other Gulf States. At this point Iraq is the lesser of two evils to the Saudis and other Arab countries.

Which means nothing: the Iraqis stalemated against the Iranians when the latter had practically been reduced to a light infantry army while Saddam enjoyed free logistics and intelligence from the superpowers as well as overwhelming mechanized superiority because his armies were beset by a crippling tactical ineptitude which they never demonstrated any ability to pull themselves out of. The Gulf States are, by all accounts, even more militarily decrepit.
 
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