TEHRAN-- The main reason Iraqi President Saddam Hussein began the war against Iran was to please the West, and especially the United States, Italian TV Channel 5 said on Monday.

The Italian network, in a special program on Saddam, added that the late Imam Khomeini's return to Iran, the victory of the Islamic Revolution, and the misgivings of the West and the Soviet Union about the revolution were the main factors which influenced Saddam to launch an all-out war against Iran.

The program went on to say that Saddam hoped to take advantage of the situation to quickly conquer Iran and thus satisfy the U.S. The Italian network added that the Iraqi president carried out a propaganda campaign claiming that the Islamic Republic of Iran was a threat in order to obtain the support of regional Arab countries for his war against Iran.

But, along with their worries about the Islamic Revolution, these countries were also worried about Saddam's expansionist ideas.

After the Iraqi attack on Iran in 1980, the late Imam Khomeini undermined Saddam's ambitions by declaring jihad.

Two years after the Iraqi attack on Iran, the U.S. found out that Saddam was not able to carry out the task, so they began to support Baghdad militarily.

The program stated that the U.S. pursued two goals by helping Iraq: fighting the Islamic Republic of Iran and weakening both countries.

After Saddam's dreams were not realized, he decided to use chemical weapons on a massive scale. After Iraq used chemical weapons against its own citizens in Halabja and some other Kurdish areas and against Iranian forces on the war fronts, the U.S. became concerned about Saddam.

With the international community's intervention, the eight-year Iran-Iraq war ended. But, again to please the U.S., Saddam carried out a swift military attack and occupied Kuwait.

The Italian network said that the U.S. paid no heed to Saddam's motives for occupying Kuwait and demanded the withdrawal of Iraqi forces from Kuwait. After Saddam refused, the Persian Gulf war began. The war resulted in Iraq's defeat and Kuwait's liberation from Iraqi occupation.