Iran and Iraq

Abstract

Wars have a way of defining and re-defining relations between countries. Walsh, however, suggests that it would be a mistake to view the Islamic Republic and Iraq solely through the prism of the 1980 and 2003 wars. This chapter briefly reviews relations between the two countries in the 1960s and 1970s. A quick look back makes evident that many of the problems that bedeviled relations between the Islamic Republic and Saddam Hussein’s Bathist regime pre-date Iran’s revolution. Walsh then turns his attention to the Iranian revolution, the 1980-1988 war, and the foreign policies of successive Iranian administrations from Rafsanjani to Rouhani. Recounting this chain of events serves as a reminder that while many elements of the Iran-Iraq relationship have persisted over decades, there are important variations as well. “For us, Iraq is the most important country in the world." Hojjatoleslam Ali Yunesi Minister of Intelligence and Security, 2004 (Taremi 2005, p. 28).