Mideast War 1979-81

Is there any way that the combined crises of the 1979-80 Iranian Revolution and Hostage Crisis, plus the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, have precipitated a fullscale superpower clash, also involving the new Iranian islamic govt, in the Middle East, with say the 82nd Airborne being dropped into northern Afghanistan to fight the Soviets, or US carrier battlegroups pounding the hell out of the Iranians ? Has this scenario been discussed already ? How would the US have fared without a specialised regional command as exists today with USCENCOM (remember, the Rapid Deployment Force, as Central Command's precursor, only came into existence in embryonic form in 1980) ?

it could have developed pretty easily, if the Soviets decided to invade Pakistan, due to the mujahedeen hiding out there...

US-USSR conflict is stretching it, but say the Iranians get lucky during operation praying mantis, a US destroyer or frigate is sunk (to mass public jubiliation in tehran) and the US finds itself at a de-facto state of war with Iran.

Making it a US-Soviet conflict would be pretty tough. I guess if the US took a more definite stance in the Iran-Iraq war, the Soviet aid to Iran would probably increase, but a direct confrontation over Iran (a regime both superpowers disliked) is unlikey, as is direct involvement of US conventional forces in Afghanistan.

Dave Howery said:

it could have developed pretty easily, if the Soviets decided to invade Pakistan, due to the mujahedeen hiding out there...

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Which Soviets had no intentions of doing.....

Linkwerk said:

Making it a US-Soviet conflict would be pretty tough. I guess if the US took a more definite stance in the Iran-Iraq war, the Soviet aid to Iran would probably increase, but a direct confrontation over Iran (a regime both superpowers disliked) is unlikey, as is direct involvement of US conventional forces in Afghanistan.

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During GW1 Soviets suppoerted Iraq. Like almost everybody else.....