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related 6.04 — strongly supporting 55 facts
Iraq and the U.S. are deeply connected through a history of military intervention, starting with the 2003 U.S.-led invasion [1], [2], and continuing as a primary theater for the ongoing geopolitical rivalry between the U.S. and Iran [3], [4]. The U.S. maintains a significant military and diplomatic presence in Iraq that is frequently targeted by Iran-aligned militias [5], [6], [7], leading to frequent U.S. retaliatory strikes within Iraqi territory [8], [7].
Facts (55)
Sources
Experts react: How the US war with Iran is playing out around the ... atlanticcouncil.org 7 facts
claimIraq serves as a venue for confrontation between the United States and Iran, with Iraq frequently pulled into conflict between the two rivals despite its attempts to maintain relations with both.
claimA weakened Iran or the potential fall of the Iranian regime presents an opportunity to alter the political course of Iraq, potentially binding it closer to the West and reducing Iranian influence.
accountProminent Iraqi militias, such as Asa’ib ahl al-Haq (AAH), have announced their readiness to disarm under pressure from the United States, indicating a focus on protecting their own political and economic interests in Iraq rather than acting as tools of Iran.
claimMilitia strikes against United States or Israeli targets in Iraq could initiate a cycle of retaliation leading to United States strikes against senior Iraqi militia leaders.
claimIraq serves as a venue for confrontation between the United States and Iran, often being pulled into conflict between the two rivals despite Iraqi attempts to maintain relations with both.
claimMilitia strikes against United States or Israeli targets in Iraq could initiate a cycle of retaliation, potentially leading to United States strikes against senior Iraqi militia leaders.
accountProminent Iraqi militias, such as Asa’ib ahl al-Haq (AAH), have announced their readiness to disarm under pressure from the United States, demonstrating a focus on their own political and economic interests in Iraq rather than acting as a tool of Iran.
Iran at a Historical Crossroads - E-International Relations e-ir.info 6 facts
perspectiveAn analysis suggests that the United States should utilize the current weakness of Iranian proxies to permanently reduce Tehran's influence in Iraq through tough diplomacy, sanctions, and intelligence operations, which would also provide leverage in nuclear negotiations.
claimBy late 2024, Iran-backed militias in Iraq, such as Kata’ib Hezbollah, significantly reduced their rocket and drone attacks, reportedly due to fear of United States retaliation.
claimIn early 2025, the United States implemented a renewed sanctions push that stopped Iraq's waiver to import electricity from Iran, aiming to reduce a key income source for the Iranian government.
claimIran has utilized its proxy network, particularly in Iraq, as a partial economic lifeline to mitigate the impact of US-led sanctions.
claimIran utilizes a network of allied militias and proxy forces, collectively known as the Axis of Resistance, to project power and oppose Israel and the United States across Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen.
claimIran cultivated numerous Shi’a militias under the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) umbrella in Iraq to exert political influence and counter United States and Sunni forces.
Iran War: Kinetic, Cyber, Electronic and Psychological Warfare ... resecurity.com 4 facts
claimThe United States advised American citizens to immediately leave Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen due to escalating Iranian strikes and planned US retaliatory strikes.
claimIraq is becoming a new front in the ongoing conflict between Iran and the US/Israel.
accountThe U.S. embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, has been subjected to drone and rocket launches described as the most intense assault on the facility.
measurementTotalEnergies reported a 15% loss in oil and gas output due to the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran causing field closures across the Middle East, including in the UAE, Qatar, and Iraq.
United States Foreign Intelligence Relationships everycrsreport.com 4 facts
accountA multilateral intelligence facility in France, which included representation from the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, and Australia, demonstrated significant French cooperation in orchestrating counterterrorist collaboration among allied intelligence services to target terrorists outside of Iraq and Afghanistan.
claimU.S. intelligence liaison relationships in the war on terror include nontraditional partners such as non-state organizations (e.g., Kurdish groups in northern Iraq and Syria) and traditional adversaries such as Russia.
claimCountries such as Turkey, Pakistan, Iran (under the Shah), Iraq, and Afghanistan have provided basing rights to the United States while facing higher political risks for doing so.
claimThe Iraqi National Intelligence Service became involved in the sectarian conflict between Shia and Sunni groups in Iraq and was linked to a proxy struggle for influence between the United States and Iran.
The path forward on Iran and its proxy forces - Brookings Institution brookings.edu 4 facts
measurementIraqi militias targeted U.S. forces in Iraq, Syria, and Jordan with at least 170 missiles, rockets, and drone strikes in the weeks following the start of the war.
claimThe 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, which eliminated the Baathist government, was a key factor in the convergence of diverse Iraqi Shiite militias under Iranian coordination.
claimHistorically, Iran's most valuable strategic openings have resulted from missteps by the United States and its regional partners, such as the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq and the 2018 withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
measurementThe United States has struck more than 100 targets in Iraq and Syria associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its assets since late October 2023.
How active have Iran's proxy groups been since the start of the war? theconversation.com 3 facts
claimIranian Kurdish groups located in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region of Iraq have been subjected to attacks following reports that the United States might arm them to fight the Iranian regime.
claimIran-aligned militias in Iraq have targeted Israel and US military bases in Jordan and Iraq using drones and missiles.
claimThe United States rejected Nouri al-Maliki as the nominee for prime minister of Iraq due to the perception that he stoked sectarian tensions during his previous term from 2006 to 2014 and maintains close ties to the Iranian regime.
The Limits of Iran's Proxy Empire | The New Yorker newyorker.com 3 facts
accountPro-Iranian Shiite militias in Iraq have attempted small-scale drone and rocket attacks against Israel and have targeted U.S. forces and personnel in Erbil, Baghdad, and Jordan.
accountPro-Iranian Shiite militias in Iraq have attempted small-scale drone and rocket attacks against Israel and have targeted U.S. forces in Erbil, Baghdad, and Jordan, though few of these attacks caused damage.
accountHezbollah, Iraq's Shiite militias, and the Houthis largely refrained from joining the conflict against Israel, with the Houthis firing only a few missiles before turning silent following their own conflict with the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Yemen.
Rethinking Espionage in the Modern Era cjil.uchicago.edu 2 facts
The Deafening Silence of Iran's Proxies - Institute for the Study of War understandingwar.org 2 facts
claimUS military bases in Iraq and Syria have been subjected to attacks, raising concerns about the potential spillover of the Israel-Hamas war, as reported by The Guardian in October 2023.
claimIran has threatened United States bases in the region, indicating that if the United States enters the conflict, Iraqi groups would likely target US bases in Iraq with rockets and drones, while Iran would likely fire ballistic missiles at US facilities in the Gulf.
The crises in the Middle East: reshaping the region's geopolitical ... link.springer.com 2 facts
claimSince the Russian military intervention in Syria, United States hegemony has become less effective, leading the United States to reconsider its military exercise strategies and the withdrawal of military equipment and soldiers from Syria and Iraq.
accountUnited States efforts to form alliances with Sunni groups in Iraq and Syria after the Arab Spring resulted in the strengthening of fundamentalist groups such as Al-Qaeda and ISIS.
Iran's Proxy Strategy and the Extent of Surrogate Autonomy - AHS alexanderhamiltonsociety.org 2 facts
perspectiveThe United States should adopt a more removed approach in Iraq to allow Iraqi resentment of Iranian heavy-handedness to grow organically, while subtly supporting political parties that oppose Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) politicians and warlords.
claimU.S. intervention in Iraq has largely failed to generate favor for Washington, with the Western footprint causing many Iraqis to seek Iranian support.
Iran in crisis: the landscape after the Twelve-Day War - OSW osw.waw.pl 2 facts
accountDuring the 2010s, Iran successfully established a network of partners and clients in countries such as Lebanon, Iraq, and Yemen, benefiting from the failure of US policies in Iraq and Afghanistan and the upheavals of the Arab Spring.
claimThe United States is actively working to dismantle the structures and support networks of pro-Iranian forces in the Middle East, specifically Hezbollah in Lebanon and various Shia militias in Iraq, through unilateral action and pressure on the governments of Lebanon and Iraq.
After Khamenei: Regional Reckoning and the Future of Iran's Proxy ... stimson.org 1 fact
claimThe 'Axis of Resistance' proxy network was initially boosted by the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, which overthrew the regime of Saddam Hussein.
Miscellanea: The War in Iran - A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry acoup.blog 1 fact
measurementThe war has resulted in the deaths of 13 American soldiers, 290 American soldiers wounded in action, 24 Israeli deaths, thousands of Israeli injuries, at least 1,000 civilian deaths in neutral countries (including Lebanon, Kuwait, Iraq, Qatar, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia), and at least 1,000 Iranian civilian deaths plus Iranian military losses.
The Role of Private Corporations in the Intelligence Community belfercenter.org 1 fact
claimPrivate firms provide protection for United States diplomatic and military facilities, including guarding the United States Ambassador to Iraq and other key diplomats within the country.
Political and social trends in the future of global security. A meta ... link.springer.com 1 fact
accountThe Arab uprisings of 2011, the territorial gains of the Islamic Caliphate in Syria and Iraq in 2014, the Brexit vote, and Donald Trump’s victory in the 2016 United States presidential elections are cited as significant developments that were difficult to anticipate at the turn of the decade.
Escalating Middle East Conflict and Its Global Geostrategic ... diplomatmagazine.eu 1 fact
accountThe conflict has expanded to include drone attacks and military incidents in Iraq, specifically near Erbil and the Baghdad International Airport, where installations associated with American forces were targeted.
Consequences of the Russia-Ukraine War and the Changing Face ... rand.org 1 fact
referenceMeredith Reid Sarkees and Frank Wayman documented a list of historical conflicts and their major participants in their 2010 book 'Resort to War: 1816–2007', including the Crimean War (1853–1856, France/Great Britain/Ottoman Empire/Russia), the Lopez War (1864–1870, Argentina/Brazil/Paraguay/Uruguay), the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878, Russia/Ottoman Empire), the Boer War (1899–1902, Great Britain/Boers), the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905, Japan/Russia), the Russo-Polish War (1919–1921, Poland/Soviet Union), the Italo-Ethiopian War (1935–1936, Ethiopia/Italy), the Korean War (1950–1953, United States/North Korea/China/South Korea), the Vietnam War (1965–1975, United States/South Vietnam/North Vietnam), the Sino-Vietnamese War (1979–1987, Vietnam/China), the Soviet-Afghan War (1979–1989, Soviet Union/Afghanistan), and the Iran-Iraq War (1980–1988, Iran/Iraq).
Iran's 'Axis of Resistance': The proxy forces shaping Mideast conflicts latimes.com 1 fact
claimThe 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, which ousted Saddam Hussein and his Baathist rule, facilitated a large-scale Iranian presence in Iraq due to the country's majority Shiite population.
How the war in Ukraine changed Russia's global standing | Brookings brookings.edu 1 fact
perspectiveCountries in the Global South often compare the Russian invasion of Ukraine to U.S. military interventions in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan, viewing Western criticism of Russia as hypocritical.
Geopolitical, Strategic, and Humanitarian Implications of ... ardd-jo.org 1 fact
claimThe United States viewed the prospect of regime change in Iran as unattractive due to its previous experiences in Iraq.
Iran's Global Posture Hides Domestic Insecurities carnegieendowment.org 1 fact
claimIran collaborates with regional groups including Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza, the Badr Organization and Kataib Hezbollah in Iraq, and the Houthis in Yemen, based on shared enmity toward Israel and the United States.
A Region at Capacity: War, Displacement, and the Limits of ... mecouncil.org 1 fact
claimIraq, despite being an oil-rich country, has a large population and has not yet recovered from the political and social turmoil following the 2003 U.S. invasion, limiting its capacity to host refugees.
War by Proxy: Iran's Growing Footprint in the Middle East - CSIS csis.org 1 fact
claimThe 2011 withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq facilitated Iranian influence, as the Iraqi government welcomed Iranian assistance.
Twenty questions (and expert answers) about the Iran war atlanticcouncil.org 1 fact
accountThe United States is conducting strikes on Iran-backed militias in Iraq in response to attacks on US bases and diplomatic facilities inside Iraq.
A Status Quo Power in a Changing Region: Iran's Regionalism in ... cambridge.org 1 fact
perspectiveIranian leader Ali Khamenei has frequently highlighted the Levant and Iraq as Iran's 'strategic depth,' which are crucial for shaping regional security arrangements and opposing US-led regional orders.