Providing Strategies to Strengthen Cooperation between Iran and Iraq Emphasizing the Strengths and Weaknesses; Opportunity – Threat

The main purpose of this research is to provide a solution to develop and deepen Iran-Iraq relations and help foreign policy institutions. Also, filling the research gap in this field is one of the sub-goals of this article.

In this article, for data analysis, the SWOT method is used with a descriptive-analytical approach, and information collection is in the form of library and documents.

Due to the political developments in Iraq and the establishment of the Shia majority at the head of the government, the Islamic Republic of Iran has been provided with unique opportunities in the field of cooperation relations. Along with the existing opportunities, there are also threats from Iran's enemies, like America, in Iraq which threatens the interests and national security of Iran.

The Islamic Republic of Iran is facing serious and important issues in the area of Iraq, each of which alone has serious strategic and security effects on the country. One of the important opportunities is to strengthen the relations and economic interactions between Iran and Iraq, the priority of strategic development strategies based on security, and the use of public diplomacy to strengthen the unity between Shiites. Emergence of ethnic, religious (Shia-Sunni) disputes and conflicts, intervention and presence of regional and extra-regional actors in the direction of divergence between the two countries are among the most important threats in the path of interactions between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Iraq.