Iran–Iraq relations
Iran–Iraq relations are the diplomatic and foreign relations between the two sovereign states of Iran and Iraq.
Both states have history that extends for millennia into the past. Iran and Iraq share a long border and an ancient cultural and religious heritage. In antiquity, Iraq was at times ruled by empires of Iranian origin, including the Achaemenid, Parthian, and Sasanian empires; however, Persian populations in Iraq were limited, and imperial rule did not involve large-scale population replacement.
Modern relations between the two nations turned increasingly negative following the 14 July Revolution in Iraq in 1958, and subsequent overthrow of the Hashemite Monarchy which resulted in the country withdrawing from the Baghdad Pact. The Ba'ath Party gained power in Iraq in the 1960s, taking a more aggressive stance on border disputes. In the aftermath of the Iranian Revolution in 1979, Saddam Hussein launched an invasion of Iran over border disputes and a desire to gain control of oil-rich areas in Iran's territory. The conflict lasted for eight years and ended in a stalemate. Iran later opposed the American-led coalition against Iraq in 1991.
The fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003 and the eventual rise to power by pro-Iranian Shia factions led to the normalization of relations between the two countries. Since 2003, Iraq has allowed Shia Muslims from Iran to make the pilgrimage to holy Shia sites in Iraq. In March 2008, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad became the first Iranian Head of State to visit Iraq since Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution. Former Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki has made several state visits to Iran since 2006 and expressed sympathy with Iran over its nuclear energy program. Iran has since become Iraq's largest trading partner. Iran and Iraq are very close allies supporting each other against the Islamic State. The relationship between the two countries is strong in part because both governments are dominated by Shi'ite Muslims. Increasing influence of Tehran in Iraqi politics has led to civilians protesting the foreign involvement and presence of Iran-backed militias harassing and attacking citizens.
Iran has an embassy in Baghdad and four consulates general in Basra, Sulaymaniyah, Erbil and Karbala. Iraq has an embassy in Tehran and three consulates general in Kermanshah, Ahvaz and Mashhad. On 7 September 2018, Iraqi citizens set the Iranian embassy on fire as a part of a series of protests and arson against the foreign power seen as becoming too influential in local domestic politics. On 27 November 2019, Iraqi protesters burned down the Iranian consulate in Najaf.
Country comparison
History
Antiquity
Akkadian Empire
was an Akkadian king who conquered Sumer and was the reason of moving the power from Southern Mesopotamia to central Mesopotamia. Sargon's vast empire is known to have extended from Elam to the Mediterranean sea, including Mesopotamia, parts of modern-day Iran and Syria, and possibly parts of Anatolia and the Arabian Peninsula.Sumerian Empire
The Third Dynasty of Ur, or 'Neo-Sumerian Empire' was a Sumerian ruling dynasty based in the city of Ur. The Third Dynasty of Ur came to preeminent power in Mesopotamia after several centuries of Akkadian and Gutian rule. It controlled the cities of Isin, Larsa and Eshnunna, and extended from the Mediterranean coast to the Persian Gulf and Western Iran. A salient feature of the dynasty is its establishment of the earliest known law code after the Code of Urukagina—the Code of Ur-Nammu.During King Shulgi's reign, many significant changes occurred. He took steps to centralize and standardize the procedures of the empire. He is credited with standardizing administrative processes, archival documentation, the tax system, and the national calendar.
The last Sumerian dynasty ended after an Elamite invasion in 2004 BC. From this point on, with the growing Akkadian presence in the region, the Sumerian language declined, after more than three thousand years of cultural identity, as the population increasingly adopted Akkadian. Future Babylonian kings carried the title 'King of Sumer and Akkad', however, for some fourteen centuries to come. The title would also be claimed by Cyrus of Persia in the 6th century BC.
Assyrian Empire
The Neo-Assyrian Empire was a multi-ethnic state composed of many peoples and tribes of different origins. During this period, Aramaic was made an official language of the empire, alongside the Akkadian language. In the preceding Middle Assyrian period, Assyria had been a minor kingdom of northern Mesopotamia, competing for dominance with its southern Mesopotamian rival Babylonia.In 647 BC, the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal leveled the Elamite capital city of Susa during a war in which the inhabitants apparently participated on an opposing side. A tablet unearthed in 1854 by Austen Henry Layard in Nineveh reveals Ashurbanipal as an "avenger", seeking retribution for the humiliations the Elamites had inflicted on the Mesopotamians over the centuries.
Assyrian rule succumbed to Babylonia with the Fall of Nineveh in 612 BC.
Babylonian Empire
In the golden age of Babylon, Nabopolassar was intent on conquering from the pharaoh Necho II the western provinces of Syria, and to this end dispatched his son Nebuchadnezzar II with a powerful army westward. In the ensuing Battle of Carchemish in 605 BC, the Egyptian army was defeated and driven back, and Syria and Phoenicia were brought under the sway of Babylon. Nabopolassar died in August of that year, and Nebuchadrezzar II returned home to Babylon to ascend to the throne.After the defeat of the Cimmerians and Scythians, all of Nebuchadrezzar's expeditions were directed westwards, although a powerful neighbour lay to the North; the cause of this was that a wise political marriage with Amytis of Babylon, the daughter of the Median king, had ensured a lasting peace between the two empires.
Though Babylonia was annexed by the rising Persian Empire in 539 BC, the Sumero–Akkadian culture of the Mesopotamians significantly influenced the succeeding empires of the Indo-Iranian tribes of the Medes and the Persians.
Achaemenid Iranian Empire
In 539 BC, Persian forces led by Cyrus The Great defeated Babylonian forces at the Battle of Opis, east of the Tigris. Cyrus entered Babylon and presented himself as a traditional Mesopotamian monarch, restoring temples and releasing political prisoners. Upon assuming power, Cyrus appointed provincial governors, and he required from his subjects only tribute and obedience. Following Cyrus's death, a brief period of Babylonian unrest ensued that climaxed in 522 B.C. with a general rebellion of Iranian colonies.Between 520 and 485 BC, the Iranian leader, Darius the Great, reimposed political stability in Babylon and ushered in a period of great economic prosperity. His greatest achievements were in road building, which significantly improved communication among the provinces, and in organizing an efficient bureaucracy. Darius's death in 485 B.C. was followed by a period of decay that led to a major Babylonian rebellion in 482 B.C. The Iranians violently quelled the uprising, and the repression that followed severely damaged Babylon's economic infrastructure.
The first Iranian kings to rule Iraq followed Mesopotamian land-management practices conscientiously. Between 485 B.C. and the conquest by Alexander the Great in 331 B.C., however, very little in Babylon was repaired and few of its once-great cities remained intact. Trade also was greatly reduced during this period. The established trade route from Sardis to Susa did not traverse Babylonia, and the Iranian rulers, themselves much closer to the Orient, were able to monopolize trade from India and other eastern points. As a result, Babylonia and Assyria, which together formed the ninth satrapy of the Persian Empire, became economically isolated and impoverished. Their poverty was exacerbated by the extremely high taxes levied on them: they owed the Iranian crown 1,000 talents of silver a year, in addition to having to meet the extortionate demands of the local administrators, and they were responsible for feeding the Iranian court for four months every year.