why didnt iran defend kuwait when sadam attacked the first time if this is such a holy war?

Answer 1

There are the reasons. The Iran-Iraq War of 1980–90 represented a serious threat to Kuwait's security. Kuwait, fearing Iranian hegemony in the region, saw no alternative to providing Iraq with substantial financial support and serving as a vital conduit for military supplies. Iran attacked a Kuwaiti refinery complex in 1981, which inspired subsequent acts of sabotage in 1983 and 1986. In 1985 a member of the underground pro-Iranian Iraqi radical group al-Da'wah attempted to assassinate the Kuwaiti ruler, Sheikh Jabir al-Ahmad Al Sabah.
In September 1986 Iran began to concentrate its attacks on gulf shipping, largely on Kuwaiti tankers. This led Kuwait to invite both the Soviet Union (with which it had established diplomatic relations in 1963) and the United States to provide protection for its tankers in early 1987. The effect of the war was to promote closer relations with Kuwait's conservative gulf Arab neighbours (Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman), with whom Kuwait had formed the Gulf Cooperation Council in 1981 in order to develop closer cooperation on economic and security issues. With the end of the Iran-Iraq War in 1990, Iraqi-Kuwaiti relations began to deteriorate. On August 2, 1990, Iraq unexpectedly invaded and conquered the country, precipitating the Persian Gulf War.

Answer 2

Because Iran didn't like Kuwait either; & besides- they'd just finished fighting a long war with Iraq as it was. So they really weren't ready to get involved in another fight with Sadam (& vice versa; that's why Iraq didn't attack Iran. Kuwait is a MUCH richer Country.).

Answer 3

Iran knew that the US would jump all over that. They didn't have to jump in it. They just sit back and watched us do it.