Let me get this straight: Iran and Iraq were already at war throughout the 1980s, going back to say, the battle of Uruk

[Kaleva]

6. Operation Earnest Will & Operation Praying Mantis

“Operation Earnest Will (24 July 1987 – 26 September 1988) was an American military protection of Kuwaiti-owned tankers from Iranian attacks in 1987 and 1988, three years into the Tanker War phase of the Iran–Iraq War.[2] It was the largest naval convoy operation since World War II, and flowed from Resolution 598 which had been adopted three days earlier.“

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Earnest_Will


“On 18 April 1988, the U.S. Navy launched Operation Praying Mantis against Iranian targets in the Arabian Gulf in retaliation for USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG-58) mining four days earlier, which blew an immense hole in the ship’s hull. Ten Sailors from Samuel B. Roberts sustained severe injuries.”

https://www.history.navy.mil/browse-by-topic/wars-conflicts-and-operations/middle-east/praying-mantis.html#:~:text=On%2018%20April%201988%2C%20the,Roberts%20sustained%20severe%20injuries.