OPEC, the Ba'ath Party, and the Iran-Iraq War: The Middle East in Flames

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) was established following a conference in Baghdad from September 9-14, 1960, spearheaded by Saudi Arabia, Iran, Kuwait, Iraq, and Venezuela. The primary goal was to raise low oil prices and protect the rights of producing nations through cooperation. However, the true turning point for the organization was the Arab-Israeli Wars. Failing to achieve their goals after the 1967 conflicts, the Arab states decided to use oil as a weapon against the West, monopolizing prices.

The 1973 Oil Crisis: Following the 1973 Yom Kippur War, OAPEC (Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries) imposed an embargo on Western countries supporting Israel and cut production. The decision to reduce oil production by 5% each month until Israel withdrew from the occupied territories caused prices to quadruple, sending a massive economic shockwave across the globe.

In response, Western countries, led by the US, established the International Energy Agency (IEA) in 1974 to secure energy supplies. By the 1980s, as the West adapted its industries to the new conditions, OPEC’s influence began to wane. Ultimately, the heaviest toll of this crisis, intended to punish the West, was sadly paid by impoverished and developing Muslim nations left without assistance.

Regime Change in Iraq and the Ba’ath Party

Iraq transitioned to a republic following a military intervention in 1958, but the real political breaking point occurred on July 17, 1968, when the Ba’ath Party seized full control in a bloodless coup. Meaning “resurrection” in Arabic, the Ba’ath Party was founded in Damascus in 1940, aiming to establish a socialist, united, and secular Arab state in the Middle East. Amid internal disputes following the coup, a group of officers led by Saddam Hussein came to prominence and took over the government. During this period, Iraq’s growing closeness with the Soviet Union and Iran’s desire to solely dominate the Persian Gulf significantly raised tensions between the two countries.

The 1975 Algiers Agreement: This escalating tension was temporarily resolved through an agreement mediated by Algeria, establishing the deepest point of the Shatt al-Arab waterway as the border and briefly calming the waters.

Michel Aflaq (left) and Salah al-Din Bitar (right) with Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser (centre) in 1958. The three leaders were prime advocates for a pan-Arab union

Regime Change in Iran (The 1979 Islamic Revolution)

The “White Revolution” reforms initiated in 1962 by Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who came to power in 1953, created massive social unrest in Iran. While steps like women’s suffrage angered the clergy (ulema), poorly planned industrialization drove millions of landless peasants into the cities. When economic hardship and political suppression evolved into a massive popular uprising led by the ulema, nationwide strikes paralyzed the country, forcing the Shah to flee in early 1979. Subsequently, Ayatollah Khomeini, who had been exiled to France for opposing the reforms, returned to the country with immense popular support.

Declaration of the Islamic Republic and the Hostage Crisis: On February 11, 1979, the Shah's regime collapsed completely, and the Islamic Republic of Iran was established under Khomeini's religious leadership. The new administration's uncompromising stance against the US and the hostage crisis at the US Embassy in Tehran irreparably severed relations between the two nations.

Arrival of Khomeini on 1 February 1979, escorted by an Air France pilot.

The Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988)

The revolution in Iran completely upended the regional balance of power within the tense atmosphere of the Cold War. Khomeini's rise to power alarmed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, whose country had a large Shia majority. When Saddam unilaterally annulled the 1975 Algiers Agreement with dreams of capturing Iran’s Arab-majority Khuzestan region, war broke out on September 22, 1980. Although Iraq seemed to have the upper hand initially, the conflict quickly devolved into a bloody and devastating war of attrition. Fearing the war would spread, regional countries formed the Gulf Cooperation Council in 1981.

The Irangate Scandal (1986): This was the most striking diplomatic crisis of the war. It was revealed that the US (particularly the Reagan administration) had secretly sold weapons to Iran via Israel to serve its national interests, sparking a massive international scandal.

The Devastating Aftermath of the War: Lasting eight full years, the war cost approximately 1 million lives and did not shift the borders by a single inch. However, the economies of both nations collapsed entirely. Driven into a deep swamp of debt, Iraq's desperate move to invade Kuwait in 1990 led to Saddam Hussein’s total international isolation and paved the way for his ultimate downfall.

With this, we leave behind a heavy block full of regime wars that cost millions of lives and energy crises that shook global balances, affecting the fate of the Middle East.

We steer our course slightly away from the conflicts and turn to a new era where the sharp ice of the Cold War began to melt, and the world took on a different complexion. Our new topic is: Developments in the World During the Détente Period. In this section, we will likely explore the space race, technological leaps, the generation of '68, and the socio-cultural changes of the era.

The Six-Day War, Yom Kippur, and Camp David: The Arab-Israeli Conflict and Its Unresolved Wounds

Now we turn our course to the Middle East, that endlessly bleeding wound, and the Arab-Israeli wars. But before diving into our historical notes, we need to pause and underline a bitter reality. History books often dress these events up with strategies, borders, and names like the “Six-Day War,” detailing who occupied where, but they rarely mention those who paid the real price. Unfortunately, nothing has changed from yesterday to today. I cannot in good conscience write these lines without remembering the innocent Palestinians who have lost their lives in the ruthless genocide that has spanned decades since those days and continues right before the eyes of the world today. Sadly, while great powers play chess for their own interests on the world stage, the innocent always foot the bill. Look at how events unfolded in 1967 and how the foundations of this oppression were laid…

The 1967 Arab-Israeli War (The Six-Day War)

The pressure exerted by Israel on the refugees displaced after the 1948-1949 Arab-Israeli War, and the subsequent legitimate struggle initiated by the Palestinians, kept tensions constantly high in the region. The following key events paved the way to the Six-Day War:

The Samu Massacre: On November 13, 1966, an Israeli unit composed of tanks and armored vehicles crossed the Jordanian border, attacking the village of Samu, which had a population of 4,000, causing massive destruction and slaughter.

Aerial Clashes: On April 7, 1967, Syrian planes responded to an Israeli air strike on Syrian artillery units, resulting in 6 Syrian jets being shot down.

The capture of Sinai. 5-6 June 1967

The Course and Results of the War:

June 5, 1967: The war officially began with the offensive of Israeli troops. In the initial phase, Israel maintained a defensive posture against Jordan and Syria while launching a massive attack on Egypt.

Israeli Advance: Following the defeat of Egypt and the capture of the region up to the Suez Canal, the Israeli army turned its focus to Syria and Jordan, seizing the strategically vital Golan Heights from Syria.

Ceasefire: Hostilities ceased following a “ceasefire” call by the United Nations on June 10, 1967. By the end of the war, Israel had expanded its occupation in the region by extending its territories all the way to the Suez Canal.

Following this war, Soviet Russia, which had settled in the Middle East to supply military equipment and train personnel for Arab countries, began establishing naval bases in the Mediterranean. This Soviet manoeuvre affected Mediterranean sovereignty and security, which were of vital importance to NATO and Türkiye.

The capture of Sinai. 7–8 June 1967

The 1973 Arab-Israeli War (Yom Kippur War)

Having pinned their hopes on the UN and US-USSR negotiations after the 1967-1968 War, the Arab states rapidly embarked on rearmament activities when they could not achieve their desired outcomes. United in the belief that the occupied Arab lands could only be liberated through an all-out struggle, Egypt and Syria planned to launch a joint military operation against Israel.

The offensive by the Egyptian and Syrian armies began on October 6, 1973, on the day Israel was celebrating its holy day (Yom Kippur). Israel first concentrated on the Syrian front; after neutralizing the Syrian army, it turned towards Egypt and successfully landed troops west of the Suez Canal.

With the arrival of the UN Peacekeeping Force on October 26, Israel complied with the ceasefire. The USSR’s announcement that it would send troops to the region was highly influential in Israel's decision.

The Yom Kippur War made Israel significantly more dependent on the US in military, diplomatic, and economic spheres than before.

As a result of the “Shuttle Diplomacy” conducted by US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, the Sinai Agreement was signed on January 18, 1974. With this treaty, Israel withdrew from a portion of the Sinai Peninsula.

Meanwhile, the oil embargo, which began immediately after the war, was spearheaded by Saudi Arabia and targeted Western countries supporting Israel. It lasted until March 1974. As a result of this embargo, oil prices skyrocketed globally, leading to a massive worldwide gasoline and energy shortage (the 1973 Oil Crisis).

The Jordan salient, 5–7 June.

The Camp David Accords (Israel & Egypt) (September 17, 1978)

Following the 1973 Yom Kippur War, US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger initiated “shuttle diplomacy” between Egypt and Israel. The product of this prolonged diplomatic traffic was the Camp David Accords, signed on September 17, 1978.

Historical Shift and Key Provisions:

According to the agreement, Israel would withdraw from the Sinai Peninsula, which it had occupied during the 1967-1968 wars, and in return, Egypt would officially recognize Israel and establish diplomatic relations.

Crucial Note: With this treaty, for the first time, an Arab state (Egypt) officially recognized Israel and legitimized its existence on the occupied territories.

The Issue of Palestine, Gaza, and the West Bank: The agreement failed to bring complete clarity to the core bleeding wound, the fate of the Gaza and West Bank regions (and the Palestinians), essentially kicking the can down the road. It only envisioned the following steps to establish an autonomous administration within 5 years:

Palestinians living in Gaza and the West Bank would be granted autonomy for a period of 5 years.

During this autonomy period, Israel would reduce its troop levels in these two territories.

Starting from the third year of the autonomy period, negotiations would be held for an agreement to determine the final status of the West Bank and Gaza.

On paper, this agreement was to recognize the “legitimate rights” and “just demands” of the Palestinian people; during this period, peace negotiations between Israel and Jordan, as well as arrangements to ensure Israel’s security, were to be made.

The Battle of Golan Heights, 9–10 June.

The Arab Reaction and the 1979 Peace Treaty

As expected, Arab countries initially reacted strongly against the Camp David Accords and decided to sever bilateral relations with Egypt. Although the “Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty,” framed within the Camp David Accords, could not be signed within the planned timeframe due to various crises, it was ultimately signed in Washington on March 26, 1979. This treaty, which drew the current Israel-Egypt borders based on mutual respect for territorial integrity and independence, guaranteed Israel's security in the south while causing Egypt to completely break away from the Arab world.

The Aftermath and Harsh Realities on the Ground:

When economic aid from Arab countries to Egypt was cut off, the US stepped in and provided substantial economic assistance to Egypt. Israel, complying with the treaty, completely withdrew from the Sinai on April 27, 1982.

These developments fuelled anti-US sentiment in the Middle East to a peak and pushed regional countries like Syria closer to the USSR.

Ultimately, these so-called “peace” agreements failed to achieve their purpose and only served to increase the oppression of Palestinians and tension in the region, as Israel continuously built Jewish settlements in the West Bank (where autonomy had been promised) in defiance of international law, declared Jerusalem its capital, and announced the annexation of the Golan Heights.

With this, we wrap up the Arab-Israeli conflicts in the Middle East and the painful, so-called peace process that began with the Camp David Accords. As we have seen, signatures penned at the negotiation table and borders drawn by great powers for their own interests were not enough to stop the bloodshed on the ground; rather, they further complicated the regional balance of power and the tragedy of the Palestinian people.

Now, we are closing this long block and transitioning to another dark dimension that shaped the fate of the Middle East: the “energy crises and regime wars.” In our next post, we will cover the following crucial topics respectively: OPEC and the 1973 Oil Crisis, which shook the entire world, followed by the Regime Change in Iraq and the rise of the Ba’ath Party, and finally, the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988), a relentless conflict that dragged the region into years of devastation.