During the Iran–Iraq War in the 1980s, al-Faw was bitterly contested due to its strategic location at the head of the disputed Shatt al-Arab waterway and was the site of many large-scale battles.

The Iranians also used the peninsula as a launch pad for Silkworm missiles which were deployed against shipping and oil terminals in the Persian Gulf, and also against Kuwait, which supported Iraq throughout the war.

[1] By using sarin nerve gas,[2] artillery barrages and air bombardments, the Iraqis eventually expelled the Iranians from the peninsula within 35 hours, with much of their equipment captured intact.

[3] The 1991 Gulf War was fought south and west of al-Faw, but the peninsula's military installations were heavily bombed by Allied forces during the conflict.

The Allied forces effectively closed down all of Iraq's shipping activities and thus rendered its access to the Shatt al-Arab and the Persian Gulf useless.