Operation Alborz, more commonly known by the code-name Operation Kaman 99, was an operation launched by the Iranian Air Force in retaliation to Iraqi surprise aerial attacks on Iran the day before which marked the beginning of the 8-year-long Iran–Iraq War. Involving nearly 200 aircraft, it is considered the largest operation carried out by the IRIAF. The outcome was clearly successful, as the Iranians achieved air superiority for the first years of the conflict.

The Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force is the aviation branch of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army. The present air force came into being when the Imperial Iranian Air Force was renamed in 1979 following the Iranian Revolution. The IRIAF was heavily involved in the Iran–Iraq War, carrying out major operations like Operation Kaman 99, Operation Sultan 10, the H-3 airstrike, and the first attack on a nuclear reactor in history, Operation Scorch Sword. As a result of eight years of aerial combat in that conflict, the IRIAF has the second highest claimed number of fighter aces in the region, exceeded only by the Israeli Air Force; as many as seven IRIAF pilots claimed more than six kills, mostly achieved in the F-14 Tomcat. Veterans of the Iran–Iraq War would go on to form the core of the IRIAF command.