I know, I was actually referring to the Iraq-Iran war. So in a sense it's not now on, it has been on and off for decades already, declared or otherwise.
At the time, Irak was actually far from playing the religious card, knowing that Husein was a sunni but the shiite community was larger if you don't include the kurds (who Husein butchered as they were hostile to him). Now, it's between Saoudis, Qataris and Iran.