The border region of Shalamcheh lies twelve kilometers west of Khorramshahr in southwestern Iran, stretching from Pol‑e Nou to the zero‑point border between Iran and Iraq. Shalamcheh sat directly on the path of major Iranian operations such as Karbala 4 and Beit al‑Muqaddas, and Iranian forces had to break through the extensive defensive obstacles Iraq had built in the area.

Shalamcheh is bordered to the north by Hussaynieh (a railway station 38 kilometers from Khorramshahr),⁠[1] to the south by the Arvand River, to the east by Khorramshahr, and to the west by the Iran– Iraq border. Also, Iraqi Shalamcheh lies southeast of Basra, bordered by the Zaid region to the north, the Arvand River to the south, the Iran– Iraq border fortifications to the east, and the towns of Tannuumah and Al-Hartha to the west.⁠[2]

The climate in Shalamcheh is extremely hot and humid, with summer temperatures exceeding 50 ° C. The border line divides the region into Iranian and Iraqi Shalamcheh; the Iranian side lies at the southwestern tip of Khuzestan.⁠[3]

On July 13, 1979, Iraqi troops attacked the Shalamcheh border post.⁠[4] Beginning September 12, 1980, Iraq launched limited attacks in the general Shalamcheh area, resulting in 10 Iranian martyrs and 28 wounded.⁠[5]

On September 22, 1980, Iraq launched its full‑scale invasion of Iran. Its primary objectives were capturing Khorramshahr and Abadan, and Shalamcheh was the most direct route to Khorramshahr. On September 29, after ten days of fighting, Iraq’ s 3rd Armored Division and the 33rd Special Forces Brigade reached within 500 meters of Pol‑e Nou, where they encountered fierce resistance from the city’ s defenders. Pol‑e Nou is a bridge over the Araiez Canal connecting Shalamcheh to Khorramshahr. After Khorramshahr fell on October 26, 1980, the Shalamcheh road became a main supply route for Iraqi units stationed in the city.⁠[6]

No major military engagement had taken place in Shalamcheh before the fourth phase of Operation Beit al-Muqaddas. However, after Operation Fath al‑Mubin, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commanders focused on Shalamcheh, aiming to strike this critical Iraqi logistical hub. Iranian forces reaching Shalamcheh during Beit al‑Muqaddas was the key to liberating Khorramshahr. Iraqi commanders never imagined Iranian troops could reach the area, yet Khorramshahr was ultimately liberated through Shalamcheh.⁠[7] After the operation, Iraq moved its 5th and 9th divisions from the Hoveyzeh and Talayieh axes to Shalamcheh to prevent further Iranian advances.⁠[8] Iraq fortified the entire region with massive minefields, barbed wire, triangular berms, and numerous canals.⁠[9]

Following Operation Beit al‑Muqaddas, Operation Ramazan was launched on July 13, 1982, aiming to reach eastern Basra and Shalamcheh.⁠[10] Aside from limited gains near the Zaid border post, the operation did not succeed.⁠[11] Iraq then expanded its fortifications⁠[12] which included flooding areas, building obstacles, laying minefields, setting up ambush zones, and constructing layered defensive belts. The first defensive line was a massive berm four meters high and fifteen meters wide, with a canal running along it, concrete bunkers on one side, and observation posts, machine‑gun nests, and tank positions on the other. Behind it were several crescent‑shaped positions, each 300– 400 meters in diameter and 5– 6 meters high. A second line stood 100 meters behind the first, with a 2.5‑meter‑wide, 4‑meter‑high embankment. Lines three through five extended to the Duaiji and Jassem canals, with increasing complexity. The sixth and seventh layers included the Zowji Canal and triangular defensive positions west of it.⁠[13] Iraqi forces called this system their “ legendary fortress”.⁠[14]

Operation Valfajr 8 began on February 9, 1986, in the Al-Faw Peninsula, Iraq. Meanwhile, Iran launched a diversionary attack in the marshes and two supporting attacks in Shalamcheh and Umm al‑Rasas. The Shalamcheh operation was led by the Iranian Army.⁠[15]

Operation Karbala 4 was launched on December 24, 1986, north of the Bavarin islands in Shalamcheh. For the first time, Iranian forces broke through the Iraqi line in Shalamcheh, but the operation could not continue and was halted to preserve forces for a new offensive.⁠[16] Two weeks later, on January 9, 1987, Operation Karbala 5 began. By the fourth day of the operation, the Shalamcheh road had been liberated. On January 28, Iranian Shalamcheh was fully secured, and Iranian forces captured large parts of Iraqi Shalamcheh as well.⁠[17]

Mohsen Rezaei, the then Commander-in-Chief of the IRGC, later said about Operation Karbala 5: “ Adnan Kheirallah said, ‘ Sir, we fire 2,000 artillery barrels, but nothing works’ ”.⁠[18] Hussain Kharrazi, commander of the 14th Imam Hussain (as) Division, was martyred in this operation.⁠[19]

Operation Karbala 8 followed in April 1987 in Shalamcheh. Earlier operations— Valfajr‑e Muqaddamati (February 6, 1983, in north of Shalamcheh), Valfajr 1 (April 10, 1983, in Jabal-Footi), Kheibar (February 22, 1984, in Hoor al-Hoveyzeh), and Badr (March 11, 1985, in Hoor al-Hoveyzeh) — had all been designed to approach Basra and were conducted north of Shalamcheh.⁠[20]

On May 25, 1988, Iraq attacked and captured Shalamcheh using its 3rd, 7th divisions, and Republican Guard Corps. Iran launched Operation Beit al-Muqaddas 7 at Shalamcheh on June 12, 1988, but it failed.⁠[21]

On July 17, 1988, Iran accepted UN Resolution 598, yet Iraq attacked the Shalamcheh again on July 22. Iraqi forces advanced along the Kooshk and Shalamcheh axes, capturing the Shahid Adab Canal and al-Mahdi route, and thus reached the outskirts of the Ahvaz– Khorramshahr Road.⁠[22] Once again, Khorramshahr came under Iraqi threat. However, after 24 hours of fighting, Iranian military and volunteer forces pushed the Iraqi troops back to the international border.⁠[23]

After the Iran-Iraq War, search teams began recovering the bodies of the martyrs who had remained in Shalamcheh. In April 1999, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei (ra) visited the area and ordered the construction of the Shalamcheh Martyrs Memorial. Eight unidentified martyrs from Operation Ramazan are buried in this site. This place has become a destination for Rahian‑e Noor caravans.⁠[24] In recent years, Shalamcheh— one of the closest border crossings between Iran and Iraq— has become a major route for both Iranian and Iraqi pilgrims and traders.⁠[25]