Operation Morvarid | |||||||
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Part of the Iran–Iraq War | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Iran | Iraq | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Units involved | |||||||
Navy Air Force Army Aviation |
Navy Air Force | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
6 amphibious vessels[1] 2 missile boats[1] Unknown number of marines and aircraft |
5 missile boats[1] 4 torpedo boats[1] Several MiG-23 and Su-22 fighters[1] Several-SAM sites[1] | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
1 missile boat sunk[1] 1 F-4 Phantom downed[1] Unknown marine losses |
5 Osa II boats sunk[1] 4 P-6 boats sunk[1] 3 light patrol boats sunk[1] 1 amphibious assault ship sunk[1] 1 MiG-23s downed[1] 1 Su-22 downed[1] Several SAM-sites destroyed[1] 2 strategic oil terminals destroyed[1] +100 killed[1] | ||||||
The day of the operation (28 November 1980) is celebrated in Iran as "the Navy Day"[2] |
Operation Morvarid (Persian: عملیات مروارید, lit. 'Operation Pearl') was an operation launched by the Iranian Navy and Air Force against the Iraqi Navy sites on 27 November 1980 in response to Iraq positioning radar and monitoring equipment on the Mina Al-Bakr and Khor-al-Amaya oil rigs to counter Iranian air operations. The operation resulted in a victory for Iran, which managed to destroy both oil rigs as well as much of the Iraqi Navy and inflicted significant damage to Iraqi ports and airfields.[1]