The Iraqi Al-Bakr Oil Terminal is located in the northern Persian Gulf, specifically built for oil exports. During the Iran– Iraq War, Iraq repurposed this platform for military operations against Iran, prompting multiple retaliatory strikes by Iranian air and naval forces. In the early 1960s, Iraq decided to build two massive docks in the Persian Gulf to establish major oil‑export terminals capable of boosting the country’ s petroleum sales. As a result, an American firm undertook the construction of the Al‑Bakr Oil Terminal, completing the project in 1974. The distance between the Al-Bakr Oil Terminal and the Iraqi coast at the point nearest to Ras al‑Bisha is approximately 25.25 miles.⁠[1] The terminal is 975 meters long and 107 meters wide, with its height above sea level varying between 2.5 and 8 meters. Al-Bakr consists of two decks, spaced 5.2 meters apart. The platform’ s supports are cylindrical iron pillars, each with a wall thickness of two centimeters and filled with cement. At its inauguration, Al-Bakr had two berths and four docking points for ships.⁠[2]

Altogether, two-thirds of Iraq’ s oil exports were handled through the Al-Bakr and Al-Amaya terminals.⁠[3] Initially, Al-Bakr could accommodate tankers with a tonnage of 350,000 tons, with an export capacity of 50 million tons per year. The final oil shipment from Al-Bakr was sent on September 20, 1980; oil exports from this platform ceased with the start of the Iraqi-imposed war against Iran.⁠[4]

On September 25, an RF-4 Phantom conducted aerial reconnaissance and photography of the Al-Bakr Oil Terminal.⁠[5] Subsequently, two F‑4 fighter jets took off from the 6th Tactical Air Base of Bushehr and struck the platform with missiles and bombs. Then, on September 27, another pair of F‑4s launched from the Bushehr Base and carried out a second bombing run against Al‑Bakr. The bombing of the platform was repeated on October 18, 1980.⁠[6] As the conflict dragged on, the platform became a strategic hub for tracking Iranian vessels using electronic surveillance equipment. This prompted Iranian planners to prioritize its destruction as part of a broader effort to halt Iraq’ s oil exports through the Persian Gulf. Therefore, Phantom fighters launching from the 6th Tactical Base of Bushehr repeatedly bombarded the Al‑Bakr.

During Operation Ashkan on October 31, 1980, three navy frigates shelled the Al-Bakr Oil Terminal, causing significant damage.⁠[7] During Operation Shahid Safari on November 6, Iranian Navy commandos landed on Al‑Bakr by helicopter and subsequently destroyed the platform with explosives.⁠[8] In Operation Morvarid on November 28, 1980, Iranian Navy commandos seized the Al‑Bakr Terminal and captured the Iraqi personnel stationed there.⁠[9] In Operation Morvarid, eight Iraqi Navy frigates around the terminal were targeted and sunk by Iranian Air Force fighter jets.⁠[10]

Later in the war, Iraq stationed Super Frelon helicopters armed with Exocet missiles on the Al‑Bakr Terminal, using them to launch numerous attacks on commercial vessels bound for Bandar‑e Imam Khomeini (ra).⁠[11] Instead of operating in the deeper waters of the Persian Gulf, Iraqi naval units largely confined their operations to the waters between the Al‑Amaya and Al‑Bakr terminals and the Iraqi shore.⁠[12]

The protection of the Al-Bakr Oil Terminal was handled by the 1st Battalion of the Iraqi Army’ s 440th Brigade, with one helicopter stationed on the platform and one Osa missile boat positioned nearby. Since Al-Bakr could not accommodate the entire battalion, a single company from this unit— comprising 175 troops— was stationed on the platform on a rotating basis. In terms of weaponry, Al-Bakr was equipped with one air radar, two sea radars, six 57 mm cannons, between five and seven 14.5 mm quad-barrel anti-aircraft guns, two Sahand (SAM-7) anti-aircraft missile launchers, one 120 mm mortar, two 81 mm mortars, and three 60 mm mortars.⁠[13]

In the winter of 1986, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) prepared a plan to attack the Al-Faw Peninsula. During the planning of Operation Valfajr 8, the mission to capture the Al-Bakr Terminal was assigned to the Iranian Army Navy. The operation was to be executed by the Naval Commando Brigade using high‑speed boats,⁠[14] but rough seas on the night of the assault (February 9, 1986) made the mission impossible to carry out.⁠[15]

In August 1986, the IRGC planned Operation Karbala 3 to capture the Al-Amaya Oil Terminal. This plan also included the bombing and capture of the Al-Bakr. The operation was carried out at night on August 31, 1986; divers infiltrated the Al‑Amaya Terminal, after which additional forces moved in and secured the site. As a result of Iranian artillery fire and Air Force strikes on the Al‑Bakr Oil Terminal, two radar systems and fifteen anti‑aircraft guns were destroyed.

The Iraqi Air Force responded with 307 sorties, and the Iraqi Navy dispatched six various vessels to bomb Al-Amaya and defend Al-Bakr, forcing the Iranians to evacuate the Al-Amaya Terminal.⁠[16]

After the war, the Al‑Bakr Oil Terminal was rebuilt by late 1989, restoring two operational tanker berths with a combined capacity of 800,000 barrels per day. Iraq also installed four additional berths at Al-Bakr, increasing the oil export capacity by another 200,000 barrels.⁠[17]

In 2003, Iraq was occupied by the United States, but by November of that same year, oil exports from Al-Bakr resumed.⁠[18] Later, the platform’ s name was changed from Al-Bakr to the Basra Oil Terminal.⁠[19]

In 2016, as part of its effort to expand oil exports, the Iraqi government added three new loading berths to the platform, providing an additional capacity of 850,000 barrels per day. Currently, Iraq’ s oil export capacity from the Basra Terminal has increased to 4.5 million barrels per day, accounting for 85 percent of the country’ s total oil exports.⁠[20]