[4] The goal was to occupy the Iranian border city of Mehran to control its oil fields, as well as Kurdish villages in the region.

By employing 530 ground-attack sorties with fighter aircraft and helicopter gunships, they crushed the Iranian forces in the area around Mehran, killing or wounding 3,500 and nearly destroying a Revolutionary Guard division.

Baghdad also said it was not involved in the battle, with Time magazine reporting that "Iraq did claim that its forces had recaptured the oil-rich Majnoun islands east of the Tigris River, where Iranian defenders had been entrenched since 1984.

It was a severe defeat for the Iranian forces, who lost a large amount of intact equipment, along with many troops killed or captured.

Moreover, the bombing campaign included strikes on power stations, natural gas plants and offshore oil facilities.