Four Decades after Saddam Hussein’s Invasion, Iran is in Iraq
BAGHDAD – Forty years after late dictator Saddam Hussein attacked Iran starting the Gulf War, Iraq has been dragged into the conflicts of the Persian country, with its shadow cast on institutions, economy and the territories of the oil-rich country.
For Iraq, it was the beginning of successive conflicts the gripped the country, which became a fighting arena for the foreign powers, mainly Iran.
The weakness of the Iraqi institutions made them more vulnerable to the influence of pro-Iranian political parties, religious figures and businessmen.
From electricity to pilgrims, they all come from Iran.
“Most of the political class has strong political relations with the Iranian side. The problem is that every country seeks out its interests in Iraq,” political analyst Watheq al-Jabery told EFE.
But the influence is not limited to the internal sphere.
The axes of Iran’s conflicts, whether with the United States or with the Persian Gulf countries and its ambition for expansion have left Iraq in the middle of its neighbor’s conflicts.
The climax of the Iranian-US conflict on Iraqi soil came earlier this year when a selective airstrike by the US forces killed Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani near the Baghdad international airport.
“The inclusion of Iraq in international and regional conflicts is the negative aspect in the nature of Iraq’s engagement in international relations, whether with Iran or America or with the Gulf states and others,” al-Jabery added.
Although the conflict began due to the expansion of Ayatollah Khomeini’s Islamic Republic of Iran (he was not formally president yet), which made Hussein fear that influence in his territory, tensions between the two countries came from a long time ago but remained contained thanks to the fragile treaty of Algiers (1975).
After a series of claims and territorial disputes that had begun the previous year, on 22 September 1980, Iraqi tanks crossed the border and it was a path of no return that left around one million dead, according to unofficial estimates.
“Iran had a revolution and wanted to export and expand it in Iraq and the region, and in return, Saddam Hussein had principles of control and hegemony,” historian Ali al-Nashmi told EFE.
The conflict left some of the direst images of the 20th century, oil wells burning after being bombed, the chemical warfare that the Iraqi dictator used in Iranian cities and eight years of pain in the region.
Nazem Ali Nazim Abdullah, an analyst at the Arab Forum for Analyzing Iranian policies, estimated the economic losses at $400 billion.
The relationship between Iraq and Iran in the 21st century is that of two strategic and commercial partners.
Among Iraqi political parties, some see Iran as an indispensable partner and while others see it as the meddling neighbor.
“Each side looks at Iran from its own angle,” political analyst Hamzah Mustafa told EFE.
He stressed the need for good relations with the neighboring country with which it shares 1,400 km borders.
Iraq is licensed by the US to bypass sanctions on Iran due to the inability to meet its domestic electricity demand, and border trade is active throughout the south, an area also full of Shiite temples and religious sites.
Iran’s support was important during the fight against the Islamic State and pro-Iranian militias were decisive in the defeat of the terrorist group.
Nazim Abdullah said today’s pro-Iranian armed militias bear similarities to pro-Iranian youth groups that emerged in Iraq in the 1980s to support the emerging Islamic revolution in the neighboring country.
He believes these militias, with the Popular Mobilization Forces on the forefront, serve as a “security ring” that maintains Iranian influence and prevents Iraq from drawing closer to neighboring countries.