Iraq will struggle ...
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This is because Iranian goods enjoy considerable popularity among the Iraqi public. If Iranian products are no longer exported to Iraq, the country will naturally face difficulties in securing food supplies. Even in Iraq, the choice of food products and goods from different countries is influenced by religious considerations. The majority of Iraqis prefer Iranian products to goods from other countries, a preference rooted in the religious and emotional ties that most Iraqis have with Iran. For this reason, the current situation suggests that the Iraqi government will have no choice but to maintain economic relations with Iran, given the strong demand for Iranian goods among the Iraqi public.
Could this measure be extended to other border crossings between Iran and Iraq? What options does Iran have to prevent disruptions to trade and passenger traffic?
In any case, relations between Iran and Iraq are complex. First, relations between Tehran and Baghdad are shaped by the two countries’ social, political and security needs. However, beyond official government and state protocols, the Iraqi people, most of whom are Shiites, have deep emotional ties with Iran.
Any hostile move by the Iraqi government against Iran, whether in the economic, security, political or social spheres, would therefore be met with a negative reaction from the majority of the Iraqi public.
Consequently, relations between Iraq and Iran are not merely relations between two governments; they are, above all, relations between two peoples, extending far beyond official government protocols.
In fact, given the influence the United States wields in Iraq and the fact that Iraq’s financial flows are monitored by the US Treasury Department, the Iraqi government is under intense American pressure. Nevertheless, the Iraqi people’s participation in political affairs and their deeply human and emotional attachment to Iran will naturally compel the government to take public sentiment into account. As a result, Baghdad cannot simply carry out Washington’s directives.