Iranian scholar compiling U.S. docs on Iran-Iraq war

TEHRAN,June 1(MNA) -- An Iranian scholar said that he is currently compiling documents on the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war, which are kept at three universities in the United States of America, for publication in Iran. “In my previous studies, I felt the need to research the U.S. official outlook on the eight-year war, which was imposed upon Iran,” Erfan Qaneifard told on Thursday. The issues such as inciting Saddam Hussein to wage war against Iran, the Western states’ full support of Iraq, and getting the Persian Gulf Arab states united against Iran have been the focus of this study, he added. In addition, reports on Iran’s capabilities in the military, financial, and security areas have been taken into consideration. He said that there is also much classified information about Iranian commanders and officials, but scholars are still not allowed to have access to it. “There are also documents showing how the brave Iranian combatants fought shoulder to shoulder and sacrificed themselves for their country in the war,” Qaneifard stated. “Reading some of the documents brings tears to the eyes of every Iranian,” he added. He expressed his hope that Iran’s Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance would allow him to publish the information in a book after the compilation of the data is complete. He is author of “After 60 Years”, the memoirs of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, which was published in three volumes. His credits also include “Trapped in the Event”, an interview with former Savak director Parviz Sabeti, and “The Storm of the Events”, about a Savak secret agent in Iraqi Kurdistan.