The Iranian Position on the Sha‘baniyya Uprising in Iraq, 1991

Abstract

It is not easy to examine the course of Iranian foreign policy toward the Arab Gulf in general, and Iraq in particular, or to delve into the nature of that policy, as this is among the difficult issues encountered by researchers in scholarly writing. Nor is it easy to grasp all the details of this policy, given the ambiguity, complexity, and intertwining of the causes and consequences surrounding it.

This is due to several reasons, most notably the shared borders between the two countries, which have made the influence of each state upon the other both prominent and clearly evident in the course of events between them at all levels. This is particularly apparent in the events of the Sha‘baniyya Uprising in Iraq in 1991, during which Iran played a prominent and distinctive role in assisting, supporting, and backing the uprising participants and the political parties opposed to the ruling regime in Iraq.