The Iraqi Air Force was historically tremendously constrained politically under Saddam. It had to be preserved, not wasted. A philosophy hardly conducive to an aggressive mindset when faced with overwhelming air superiority.
During the Iran/Iraq conflict the emergency plan was to relocate the Air Force to Saudi Arabia if the air fighting started to threaten its existence.
During GW1 this emergency plan had to be activated :however Saudi was out, so 108 or so aircraft then deployed across to Iranian bases.