Foreign relations of Iraq

The foreign relations of Iraq are the international relations maintained by the Republic of Iraq since its independence from the Ottoman Empire proclaimed in 1921. Iraq was a British protectorate under a mandate from the League of Nations between 1921 and 1932, then effectively gained its independence with the 1958 revolution which overthrew the pro-Western royal family and established the Republic.

Iraq is a member of the United Nations, the Arab League (of which it is a founding member) since 1945, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (of which it is also a founding member) since 1960, and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation since 1976. The international trade embargo on Iraq between 1990 and 2003 in retaliation for the invasion of Kuwait by Saddam Hussein allowed it to relatively spare its oil reserves compared to other countries in the region. Like Saudi Arabia, one of its other major resources is the presence of Islamic holy sites on its territory which attracts millions of pilgrims each year (mainly Iranians): the shrine of Ali in Najaf and the city of Karbala.

The Iraqi Minister of Foreign Affairs is Fuad Hussein, since June 2020. This position is strategic for Iraq, which largely depends on its foreign relations for its economy and security, after being the scene of a particularly violent civil war between 2013 and 2017.

But Iraq is also a battleground between foreign powers vying to extend their influence in the Middle East, mainly Iran, the United States, Turkey, and to a lesser extent, Saudi Arabia. Unlike Syria, its bordering neighbor, these foreign powers avoid military confrontations on Iraqi soil (with the notable exception of the elimination of the Iranian general Qasem Soleimani by an American strike in Baghdad in 2020) and prefer political and commercial struggles.

Thus, the formation of various Iraqi governments is often the result of a compromise integrating Iranian, American, and Turkish concerns, ensuring that Iraq's foreign policy will not be unfavorable to them. It must also be representative of its multi-ethnic and multi-denominational population, while the Shiite sectarianism of Nouri al-Maliki, Prime Minister from 2006 to 2014, is considered one of the main causes of the second Iraqi civil war. This war saw, like the 1991 Gulf War, the intervention in Iraq of a vast international military coalition led by the United States, this time in support of the Iraqi government, which allowed it to regain control of the entire territory in 2017.

Since then, Iraq has gradually pursued its global reintegration, being the subject of several international conferences in August 2021 and December 2022 aimed at supporting Baghdad on economic, diplomatic, and security levels. Several Arab and Western countries participate, while this summit also aims to promote dialogue between regional stakeholders.