What is so wrong about this equation? In the Western media, Iran’s influence in Iraq is mostly viewed as being inimical and harmful. After all, what good can come from a country bend on getting nuclear weapons and spreading its radical influence across the region? But there is something positive about the new Iran-Iraq relationship. As Kevin Sullivan points out in his blog for the Real Clear World, “the fact that these two countries – both, just a quarter of a century ago, having been engaged in arguably the nastiest, bloodiest war in modern Mideast history – have come this far would normally be the stuff of historical praise; something akin to Europe’s rise from warring rivals to peaceful partners.” He goes on to point out that “The problem with our thinking on Iranian influence in Iraq is we assume it to all be nefarious and cabal-esque, when in truth much of it is just geographic destiny. Iranian influence in Iraq is inevitable and – thanks in part to the United States – now expedited.”
Here are some figures from the Iran-Iraq war that lasted from 1980 till 1988 that can help illustrate why Iran’s influence in Iraq is inevitable:
- The war claimed at least 300,000 Iranian lives and injured more than 500,000, out of a total population which by the war’s end was nearly 60 million. (Source: Iran Chamber Society)
- According to World Health Organization (WHO), 25,000 Iranians were killed by Iraq’s chemical weapons attacks and more than 100,000 receive treatment against chemical agent. (Source: Iran’s weapons of mass destruction: the real and potential threat By Anthony H. Cordesman, Khalid R. Al-Rodhan pg.27)
- The estimated economic loss to Iran from the Iraq-Iran war is $ 790 Billion. (Source: The Militarization of the Persian Gulf: An Economic Analysis By Hossein Askari, Amin Mohseni, Shahrzad Daneshvar pg.118)
Looking at these statistics, its no surprise that Iran is trying to influence Iraq. The cost of not having a good relationship with Iraq is just too high.