Iranian child soldier Hassan moves through a swamp on a combat mission against Iraqi forces. He died 3 years later at the age of 16. 34 years later in 2017, his remains were brought back to his hometown

Iranian child soldier Hassan moves through a swamp on a combat mission against Iraqi forces. He died 3 years later at the age of 16. 34 years later in 2017, his remains were brought back to his hometown. His mother waited for her son to return home, and reportedly died a few hours later. Photo taken in 1980 by Alfred Yaghobzadeh.

The Iranian - Iraqi was a conflict that occurred between Iran and Iraq between 1980 and 1988. Initiated by Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, the war began with Iraq's invasion of Iran, motivated by territorial disputes, concerns over the spread of Iran's Islamic Revolution, and aspirations for regional dominance.

The conflict saw over a million deaths. It saw the use of chemical weapons, extensive aerial bombardment and the use of ballistic missiles with many civilian areas being targeted. Trench warfare was also used, mirroring the tactics used in World War I. Swamps, like the one seen above, were often booby-trapped with electrical wire, which would send lethal electrical currents throughout the water, frying soldiers to death, which was not the case in the photo above.

The war did not have a definite victory and it resulted in a stalemate, with a peace deal being agreed upon in 1990 with the assistance of the United Nations. The war resulted in heavily influencing the countries futures. Iraq went into heavy debt, which resulted in Hussein taking a very aggressive approach to solving the country's economic problems and saw Iraq invade Kuwait. The war secured Iran's regime and saw different policies implemented. The war only increased the volatility in the Middle East.