Adopted unanimously on 20 July 1987, Resolution 598 was the landmark Security Council resolution on the Iran-Iraq War, adopted under Articles 39 and 40 of the UN Charter after determining that a breach of the peace existed. The resolution demanded that Iran and Iraq observe an immediate ceasefire, discontinue all military actions on land, sea, and air, and withdraw all forces to internationally recognized boundaries without delay.
It deplored the bombing of civilian population centres, attacks on neutral shipping, and the use of chemical weapons in violation of the 1925 Geneva Protocol. The resolution also requested the Secretary-General to dispatch UN observers to verify the ceasefire, urged the release and repatriation of prisoners of war, and called for an impartial inquiry into responsibility for the conflict. Resolution 598 ultimately provided the framework for the ceasefire that ended the war in August 1988.