The purpose of this meeting that took place on Wednesday, 20 September, was to mark the beginning of the Sacred Defence Week, an annual event in Iran that commemorates the Iran-Iraq War which took place from 1980 to 1988. During the war, the Iranian Red Crescent Society provided medical assistance to injured soldiers. Over 400 aid workers from the Iranian Red Crescent lost their lives during the war while carrying out their duties to help wounded people.