📰 Iraq · page 3

Post-invasion Iraq

Main article: Occupation of Iraq (2003–2011), Iraq War, History of Iraq (2011–present)

After the 11 September 2001 attacks, U.S. President George W. Bush began planning the overthrow of Saddam in what is now widely regarded as a false pretense.[112]182 Saddam's Iraq was included in Bush's "axis of evil".183 The US Congress passed a joint resolution, which authorised the use of armed force against Iraq.[112]184 In November 2002 the UN Security Council passed resolution 1441.[112]185 On 20 March 2003, the US-led coalition invaded Iraq, as part of the global war on terror.[112]186 Within weeks, coalition forces occupied much of Iraq, with the Iraqi Army adopting guerrilla tactics to confront coalition forces.[112]187 Following the fall of Baghdad in the first week of April, Saddam's regime had completely lost control of Iraq.[112]188 A statue of Saddam was toppled in Baghdad, symbolising the end of his rule.[112]189 The US-created Coalition Provisional Authority introduced the current political system of the country.[113]190

Insurgency and Civil war

The Coalition Provisional Authority disbanded the Iraqi military and expelled Ba'athists from the new government.[112]191 The insurgents fought against the coalition forces and the newly installed government.[112]192 Saddam was captured and executed.[112]193 The Shia–Sunni civil war took place from 2006 to 2008.[112]194 The coalition forces were accused of war crimes such as the Abu Ghraib torture, the Fallujah massacre, the Mahmudiyah rape and killings and the Mukaradeeb wedding party massacre.[112]195 Following the withdrawal of US troops in 2011, the occupation ceased and war ended.196 The war in Iraq has resulted in between 151,000 and 1.2 million Iraqis being killed.[112]197

The subsequent efforts to rebuild the country amidst sectarian violence was galvanised by continuing discontent over Nouri al-Maliki's government, which led to protests.198 In 2013, taking advantage of the ensuing chaos and popular discontent against the Iraqi government, Ba'athist and other Sunni militants (Al Qaida and ISIS) launched a number of attacks against the government during what is known as the Anbar campaign.199 What followed, was a large scale offensive by ISIS in Mosul, which marked the beginning of the rapid territorial expansion of the group, initiating full-scale war in Iraq.200 Sunni insurgents belonging to the Islamic State group seized control of large swathes of land including several major cities, like Tikrit, Fallujah and Mosul, creating hundreds of thousands of internally displaced persons amid reports of atrocities by ISIS fighters.201 An estimated 500,000 civilians fled from Mosul.202 Around 5,000 Yazidis were killed in the genocide by ISIS, as a part of the war.203 In June 2014, Iraq's leading Shii Grand Ayatollah, Ali al-Sistani issued a Fatwa calling on able-bodied men to join the Armed Forces to fight against ISIS.204 Even though the Fatwa specifically instructed Iraqis to join the official Armed Forces of the country (such as the Army or the Police), it nevertheless resulted in the creation of the Popular Mobilisation Forces.[114]205 During that time, the government of Iraq, headed by Haider al-Abadi requested the international community to assist Iraq against ISIS, resulting in the creation of the American-led Coalition against ISIS.206 Meanwhile, in an attempt to counter US influence, Khomeinist anti-US militias prompted Iranian intervention, which resulted in the latter expanding its influence.207 The Iraqi armed forces, supported by the US-led coalition, as well as the Popular Mobilisation Forces, Peshmerga and other allied anti-ISIS militias then initiated a counter-offensive to retake and liberate ISIS-held territory.208 In December 2017, when ISIS had lost all its territory in Iraq, the government declared victory.209

2019-2021 protests

Main article: 2019–2021 Iraqi protests

One of the main causes for popular discontent in Iraq is the lack of reliable electricity infrastructure and clean water.210 The electrical grid faces systemic pressures due to climate change, fuel shortages, and an increase in demand.[115][116][117]211 Corruption remains endemic throughout Iraqi governance while the United States-endorsed sectarian political system has driven increased levels of violent terrorism and sectarian conflicts.[118][119][117]212 Climate change is driving wide-scale droughts while water reserves are rapidly depleting.[120]213 Nationwide protests erupted in Iraq in October 2019, demanding systemic reform, and the end of the party-based quota system as well as the disarmament of non-state militias and end to foreign interference.214 Despite heavy repression, hundreds of deaths, and widespread injuries, the movement remained united around calls for institutional reform and increased accountability.215 In 2020, the sitting prime minister Adil Abdul Mahdi resigned in the face of popular demand.216 He was succeeded by prime minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, whose tenure coincided with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.217 The subsequent macroeconomic shock caused a severe decline in oil prices, critically impacting Iraq's oil-dependent economy.218 The country has been in a prolonged drought since 2020 and experienced its second-driest season in the past four decades in 2021.219 Water flows in the Tigris and Euphrates were down 30-40% in 2023.220 Half the country's farmland is at risk of desertification.[117]221 Nearly 40% of Iraq "has been overtaken by blowing desert sands that claim tens of thousands of acres of arable land every year".[121]222

Period of stability (2022–present)

Since 2022, Iraq has experienced a period of relative political, security, and economic stabilisation.[122]223 Government officials have cited increased regional diplomacy, improved international relations, and economic diversification initiatives such as the Iraq–Europe Development Road project as key indicators of recovery.[123][124]224 In August 2023, the Iraq Development Fund was established whose purpose is to strengthen the private sector and finance projects of crucial social and environmental value.225 In 2024, Iraq experienced unprecedented rainfall that —according to the Ministry of Water Resources— boosted Iraq's strategic water reserves by 10%, significantly easing the drought crisis.[125]226 In February 2025, the Iraq Development Fund had gained $7bn in foreign direct investments, and signed Memoranda of Understanding with a number of countries including the United Kingdom corpus and Japan corpus.227 In May 2025, Iraqi Ministry of Planning announced that the unemployment rate in Iraq had dropped from 17% in 2022 to 13% in 2025.[126]228 A report published on 24 July 2025 and submitted to the United Nations Security Council, assessed that ISIS "is at its weakest" in Iraq since its emergence.[127]229 In 2025, the UNDP announced that Iraq had reached a Human Development Index score of 0.712, surpassing the Arab states average.230 With reform and investment into the country's human capital, Iraq could reach the ranks of countries with 'very high human development' (HDI 0.800 and above) by 2035.[128]231

Geography

Main article: Geography of Iraq

Iraq lies between latitudes 29° and 38° N, and longitudes 39° and 49° E (a small area lies west of 39°).232 Spanning 437072 km2, it is the 58th-largest country in the world.233

It has a coastline measuring 58 km on the northern Persian Gulf.[129]234 Further north, but below the main headwaters only, the country easily encompasses the Mesopotamian Alluvial Plain.235 Two major rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates, run south through Iraq and into the Shatt al-Arab, thence the Persian Gulf.236 Broadly flanking this estuary (known as arvandrūd: اروندرود among Iranians) are marshlands, semi-agricultural.237 Flanking and between the two major rivers are fertile alluvial plains, as the rivers carry about 60000000 m3 of silt annually to the delta.238

The central part of the south, which slightly tapers in favour of other countries, is natural vegetation marsh mixed with rice paddies and is humid, relative to the rest of the plains.239 Iraq has the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range and the eastern part of the Syrian Desert.240

Rocky deserts cover about 40 percent of Iraq.241 Another 30 percent is mountainous with bitterly cold winters.242 The north of the country is mostly composed of mountains; the highest point being at 3611 m. Iraq is home to seven terrestrial ecoregions: Zagros Mountains forest steppe, Middle East steppe, Mesopotamian Marshes, Eastern Mediterranean conifer-sclerophyllous-broadleaf forests, Arabian Desert, Mesopotamian shrub desert, and South Iran Nubo-Sindian desert and semi-desert.[130]243

Climate

Main article: Geography of Iraq § ClimateClimate of Iraq

Much of Iraq has a hot arid climate with subtropical influence.244 Summer temperatures average above 40 °C for most of the country and frequently exceed 48 °C. Winter temperatures infrequently exceed 15 °C with maxima roughly 5 to 10 °C and night-time lows 1 to 5 °C. Typically, precipitation is low; most places receive less than 250 mm annually, with maximum rainfall occurring during the winter months.245 Rainfall during the summer is rare, except in northern parts of the country.246

The northern mountainous regions have cold winters with occasional heavy snows, sometimes causing extensive flooding.247 Iraq is highly vulnerable to climate change.[131]248 The country is subject to rising temperatures and reduced rainfall, and suffers from increasing water scarcity for a human population that rose tenfold between 1890 and 2010 and continues to rise.[132][133]249

The country's electrical grid faces systemic pressures due to climate change, fuel shortages, and an increase in demand.[115][116]250 Corruption remains endemic throughout all levels of Iraqi governance while the political system has exacerbated sectarian conflict.[118][119]251 Climate change is driving wide-scale droughts across the country while water reserves are rapidly depleting.[120]252 The country has been in a prolonged drought since 2020 and experienced its second-driest season in the past four decades in 2021.253 Water flows in the Tigris and Euphrates are down between 30 and 40%.254 Half of the country's farmland is at risk of desertification.[117]255 Nearly 40% of Iraq "has been overtaken by blowing desert sands that claim tens of thousands of acres of arable land every year".[121]256

However, in 2023, Mohammed Shia al-Sudani announced that government was working on a wider "Iraqi vision for climate action".257 The plan would include promoting clean and renewable energy, new irrigation and water treatment projects and reduced industrial gas flaring, he said.258 Sudani said Iraq was "moving forward to conclude contracts for constructing renewable energy power plants to provide one-third of our electricity demand by 2030".259 In addition, Iraq will plant 5 million trees across the country and will create green belts around cities to act as windbreaks against dust storms.[134][135]260

In the same year, Iraq and TotalEnergies signed a $27 billion energy deal that aims to increase oil production and boost the country's capacity to produce energy with four oil, gas and renewables projects.261 According to experts, the project will "accelerate Iraq's path to energy self-sufficiency and advance Iraq's collective climate change objectives".[136][137]262

Biodiversity

Main article: Wildlife of Iraq

The wildlife of Iraq includes its flora and fauna and their natural habitats.[138]263 Iraq has multiple and diverse biomes which include the mountainous region in the north to the wet marshlands along the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, while western part of the country comprises mainly desert and some semi-arid regions.264 Many of Iraq's bird species were endangered, including seven of Iraq's mammal species and 12 of its bird species.265 The Mesopotamian marches in the middle and south are home to approximately 50 species of birds, and rare species of fish.[139]266 At risk are some 50% of the world's marbled teal population that live in the marshes, along with 60% of the world's population of Basra reed-warbler.[139]267

The Asiatic lion, in the present-day extinct in the region, has remained a prominent symbol of the country throughout history.[140]268 Draining of the Mesopotamian Marshes, during the time of Saddam's government, caused there a significant drop in biological life.[141]269 Since the 2003–2011, flow is restored and the ecosystem has begun to recover.[141]270 Iraqi corals are some of the most extreme heat-tolerant as the seawater in this area ranges between 14 and 34 °C.[142] Aquatic or semi-aquatic wildlife occurs in and around these, the major lakes are Lake Habbaniyah, Lake Milh, Lake Qadisiyah and Lake Tharthar.[143]271

Government and politics

Main article: Politics of Iraq, Federal government of Iraq, Elections in Iraq

The Republic of Iraq is defined under the current constitution as a democratic, federal parliamentary republic.272 The system of government is composed of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, as well as numerous independent commissions.273 Iraq is administratively divided into subnational federal regions, governorates, districts and subdistricts with jurisdiction over various matters as defined by law.[44][144]274 The president is the ceremonial head of state, while the prime minister is the head of government and the commander-in-chief of the armed forces with direct executive authority over general state policy.275 The constitution provides for two deliberative bodies, the Council of Representatives and the Council of Union.276 The judiciary is free and independent of the executive and the legislature.[144]277