Iraq, officially Republic of Iraq, also Irak, republic in the Middle East, bordered on the north by Turkey; on the east by Iran; on the south by Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the Persian Gulf; and on the west by Jordan and Syria. Iraq has a total area of 437,072 sq km (168,754 sq mi), taking into account the adjustments made to the border with Kuwait under the UN demarcation, which Iraq formally accepted in November 1994; the unadjusted area is 438,317 sq km (169,235 sq mi). These figures exclude Iraq’s share of the Neutral Zone (3,522 sq km/1,360 sq mi), an area with no permanent inhabitants lying between Iraq and Saudi Arabia that is jointly administered by the two governments, and through which nomads can move freely.

Iraq invaded and annexed Kuwait in August 1990, occupying it until expelled by a UN-led coalition in February 1991, during the Gulf War. Some of the world’s greatest ancient civilizations developed in the area that makes up modern Iraq: Assyria, Babylonia, Mesopotamia, and Summer. Baghdad is the country’s capital and largest city.

LAND AND RESOURCES  
There are four major areas within Iraq. The high Zagros Mountains in the extreme north-east are barren and harsh, supporting only pastoral nomadism during the summer months. Elevations reach 3,600 m (11,811 ft) at Jabal Ibrâhîm, the highest point in Iraq. Also part of this region are the foothills of the Zagros Mountains. They are an ideal environment for settlement, although now deforested, and form part of the Fertile Crescent where most cereal crops grow.

Between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in the north lies a barren zone used by nomads and known as Al Jazira (Arabic, "island"). The sediment from the rivers forms a fertile alluvial plain in central and southern Iraq that is rich in agricultural potential. To the south-east of this plain lie extensive marshlands that reach Iraq’s 40 km (25 mi) of coastline on the Persian Gulf. To the west of the Euphrates, and covering more than half of the country, lies desert: on the southern border with Saudi Arabia is the Shamiya Desert; on the west, part of the Syrian Desert.

The Chaldani Church, in Mosul (Al Mawºil), northern Iraq, is evidence of the historic Christian presence in Iraq. About 95 per cent of Iraqis are Muslims. Of these, about 65 per cent belong to the Shiite branch of Islam; the rest are Sunni Muslims. Some Christian minorities still exist in Iraq, such as the Chaldean and Syrian Catholics.

The Martyr’s Monument in Baghdad, Iraq, is dedicated to those who died in the eight-year war that Iraq fought with Iran. Conflict between the two countries erupted in 1980 and ended in 1988.

War with Iran  
Tension between Iraq and the revolutionary regime in Iran increased during 1979, when unrest among Iranian Kurds threatened to spill over into Iraq. Sectarian religious animosities exacerbated the differences. In September 1980 Iraq declared its 1975 agreement with Iran, which President Hussein had negotiated, null and void and claimed authority over the entire disputed Shatt Al-Arab estuary. The quarrel flared into the Iran-Iraq War. Iraq quickly overran part of the Arab-populated province of Khuzistan and destroyed the Âbâdân refinery. In June 1981 a surprise air attack by Israel destroyed a nuclear reactor near Baghdad. (The Israelis charged that the reactor was intended to develop nuclear weapons for use against them.)

In early 1982 Iran launched a counter-offensive and by May had reclaimed much of the territory conquered by Iraq in 1980. In the ensuing stalemate each side inflicted heavy damage on the other and on Persian Gulf shipping. Although declaring its neutrality in the war, the United States announced in November 1984 that it had resumed diplomatic relations with Iraq.

After a ceasefire with Iran came into effect on August 20, 1988, the Iraqi government again moved to suppress the Kurdish insurgency, the Kurds having taken advantage of Baghdad’s involvement on the Iranian front, and of Iranian support, to intensify their attacks. The measures employed included poison gas attacks on civilians and the clearing of large swathes of Kurdish areas by population transfers and mass executions. This genocidal policy, entitled al Anfal, was pursued through to 1989 when the Kurds were no longer considered to be a problem. During the late 1980s the nation rebuilt its military machine, in part through bank credits and technology obtained from western Europe and the United States.

Saddam Hussein became the president of Iraq in 1979 and made headlines worldwide in 1990 when his army invaded Kuwait. Hussein probably launched the attack so that Iraq’s sagging economy would have access to Kuwaiti oil reserves; the invasion was condemned by the United Nations (UN), which initiated a worldwide trade embargo against Iraq. Hussein ignored UN resolutions ordering Iraq out of Kuwait, and as a result international military forces waged the six-week Gulf War (1991) against Iraq. Hussein withdrew his troops from Kuwait after suffering heavy casualties in the war, and used his remaining military resources to stifle internal dissent by Iraq’s Kurds and Shiites.