The definition of a martyr broadened further during the Iran–Iraq War from 1980 to 1988.[24] The extremely costly and destructive war between a Sunni-controlled country (Iraq) and a Shi'a-controlled country (Iran) had several parallels with the events at Karbala, which led to further exploitation of the Iranian reverence for martyrdom. Saddam Hussein's Iraq was seen as the Sunni aggressor against the Shia people and therefore took on the role of the new Yazid in Iranian political discourse.