Saddam Hussein
There had also been a rivalry between Saddam and Khomeini since the 1970s. Khomeini was exiled from Iran in 1964. He began living in Iraq, at the Shi'ite holy city of An Najaf. There, he became involved with Iraqi Shi'ites and gained many religious and political followers throughout the world. Under pressure from the Shah, who had agreed to a rapprochement between Iraq and Iran in 1975, Saddam agreed to kick Khomeini out in 1978. After the Islamic Revolution, Khomeini thought defeating Saddam's government may have been the second most important thing to do, only behind keeping his power in Iran.