In April 1991, the Iraqi foreign ministry published the following list of Iraqi aircraft flown out to Iran, and accordingly requested these aircraft back:
- 24 Mirage F.1EQ/BQ
- 24 Su-24MK
- 40 Su-22
- 4 Su-20
- 7 Su-25
- 4 MiG-29
- 7 MiG-23ML
- 4 MiG-23BN
- 1 MiG-23UB
- 15 Il-76
- 2 Boeing 747
- 2 Boeing 737
- 1 Boeing 727
- 1 Boeing 707
The Iranians put the Mirage, Su-22/24/25, MiG-29s and Il-76s into service. The Iraqis never had any C-130s in service, but used the An-12 CUB. The Iranians simply refused to return the aircraft.
It wasn't at the start of the conflict, but near the end when they realised that they would probably lose the lot.