CASUALTY RECORD // April 24, 1982
Liberation of Khorramshahr
Estimated casualties — killed, wounded, captured, and missing — by side, with confidence labels per surviving record.
Casualties by side
2 sides catalogued · combined 20,000–23,000 estimated
Iraq
8,000
Medium-confidence figure
Iran
12,000–15,000
Medium-confidence figure
Battle context
The recapture of Khorramshahr on 24 May 1982 stands as a turning point in the Iran–Iraq War. The city had fallen to Iraqi forces on 26 October 1980 during the opening phase of the Iraqi invasion, making its recapture a significant reversal of Iraqi territorial gains. Conducted as part of Iran's Operation Beit ol-Moqaddas, the battle saw Iranian forces numbering approximately 100,000 engage an Iraqi garrison of around 80,000, inflicting roughly 8,000 Iraqi casualties at a cost of 12,000–15,000 Iranian dead and wounded. The successful operation demonstrated Iran's capacity to mount large-scale offensive action and retake major urban centers, shifting momentum away from Iraq. The liberation of Khorramshahr is commemorated annually in Iran, reflecting its enduring political and symbolic weight within the Islamic Republic's narrative of the war.
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