Operation Pearl

Operation Morvarid
Part of Iran-Iraq War
Date 28–29 November 1980 (1 day) Location Parts of the Persian Gulf and Iraq Result Decisive Iranian victory Destruction of the oil terminals at Mina al-Bakr and Khor al-Amaya Destruction of 80% of the Iraqi Navy Blocking of the port of Al Faw Destruction of many Iraqi oil installations, early warning bases and SAM sites
Belligerents
Iran	Iraq
Commanders and leaders
Abulhassan Banisadr M.Ebrahim Kakavandi Bahram Afzali Mostafa Madani Nejad (Commander of Task Force 421) M.Ebrahim Kakavandi javad Fakouri
Strength
6 amphibious vessels 2 missile boats Unknown number of marines and aircraft	8 motor-torpedo boats 5 fast-attack craft Unknown number of ground forces 8 MiG-23 and several MiG-21 fighters Several-SAM sites
Casualties and losses
1 Missile boat sunk 1 F-4 Phantom downed 1 F-4 Phantom damaged Unknown marine losses	5 Osa II boats sunk 4 P-6 boats sunk 1 Aérospatiale Super Frelon downed 6 MiG-23s downed 1 MiG-21 downed Several SAM-sites destroyed Several oil terminals destroyed Unknown ground losses
The day of that naval victory (28 November 1980) is celebrated in Iran as Navy Day

Decisive Iranian victory

Operation Morvarid (Persian: عملیات مروارید‎‎, meaning "Pearl") was an operation launched by the Iranian Navy and Air Force against the Iraqi Air Defence sites on 28 November 1980 in response to Iraq positioning radar and monitoring equipment on the 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.

On 28 November 1980, after Iranian technicians prepared as many aircraft and helicopters as possible, Iranian F-4 Phantoms and F-5 Tiger IIs attacked Iraqi airfields around Basra. They managed to destroy one Iraqi MiG-21 Fishbed on the ground.

During the night of 29 November, six ships of the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy's Task Force 421 deployed Iranian marines on the Iraqi oil terminals at Mina al Bakr and Khor-al-Amaya. The marines, supported by Army Aviation's AH-1J Cobras, Bell 214s and CH-47C Chinooks, gunned down most Iraqi defenders during a short firefight, then deployed a large number of bombs and mines. They were then evacuated by helicopter and left the Iraqi oil installations and early warning bases in flames.

At the same time, two Iranian Kaman class (La Combattante IIa missile boats) (Paykan and Joshan) blocked the ports of Al Faw and Umm Qasr, blocking 60 foreign ships and shelling both facilities.

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