Iranians in Iraq
Iranians in Iraq, are Iraqi citizens of Iranian background. Iranians have had a long presence in Iraq, going back to the Fall of Babylon.
History
During the 19th and early 20th centuries, many Iranians took refuge in Ottoman Iraq and lived in exile in cities such as Najaf, Karbala and Baghdad.In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Saddam Hussein exiled between 350,000 to 650,000 Iraqi citizens of Iranian ancestry. Most of them went to Iran. Most could prove their Iranian ancestry in Iranian courts and therefore received Iranian citizenships. Following Saddam's fall, some returned to Iraq. The population of Iraqis of Iranian descent is currently 486,000.
Notable people
- Kazim Rashti, Shaykhi scholar
- Ali Muhammad Khan Nizam ud-Daula son of Hajji Mohammad Hossein Isfahani, scholar who fled Iran, lived, died and buried in exile in Najaf.
- Princess Shams ud-Daula Qajar, daughter of Fath-Ali Shah Qajar and wife of Ali Muhammad Khan Nizam ud-Daula.
- Abulqasim Khan Qarai, son of Muhammad Khan Qarai, wealthy land owner who fled Mashhad in 1887 and lived in exile in Karbala. He feared for his life when his properties were unlawfully seized by Abdul Wahab Khan Asaf ud-Daula Shirazi.
- Ali al-Sistani, Shia religious leader born in Mashhad and ancestry from Sistan.