Relationship dossier
Iraq
Israel
Relationship assessment
A durable state of hostility marked by past wars, Iraq's rejection of normalization, and Israel's 1981 strike on Iraq's Osirak reactor.
Iraq toward Israel
-75Iraq fought Israel in the 1948 war and subsequent Arab-Israeli wars. During the 1991 Gulf War, Iraqi forces launched Scud missiles at Israel. In 2022, Iraq enacted a law criminalizing normalization with Israel.
Israel toward Iraq
-50Israel carried out an airstrike on Iraq's Osirak nuclear reactor on 7 June 1981, destroying the facility. Israel has also been linked to later strikes on targets in Iraq, but the details and attribution of those incidents are disputed.
Overall relationship
-70The relationship is shaped by repeated armed conflict, the absence of diplomatic relations, and Iraq's formal rejection of normalization. The 1981 Israeli strike on Osirak and Iraq's attacks on Israel during the 1991 Gulf War exemplify direct military confrontation.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Iraq and Israel have a long history of armed conflict and remain without diplomatic relations. Iraq fought Israel in the 1948 war and subsequent Arab-Israeli wars, and Iraqi forces launched Scud missiles at Israel during the 1991 Gulf War. Iraq's 2022 law criminalizing normalization with Israel reinforces its rejection of bilateral ties. Israel's 1981 airstrike on Iraq's Osirak nuclear reactor is a major instance of Israeli military action against Iraq.
Areas of tension
- Iraq's rejection of Israel's existence as a state and its prohibition on normalization.
- Iraq's participation in Arab-Israeli wars and its 1991 missile attacks on Israel.
- Israel's 1981 airstrike on Iraq's Osirak nuclear reactor.
- Disputed reports of Israeli strikes on targets in Iraq in later years.
Key developments
Israel destroyed Iraq's Osirak nuclear reactor in an airstrike.
Iraqi forces launched Scud missiles at Israel during the Gulf War.
Iraq enacted a law criminalizing normalization with Israel.
Major uncertainties
- The extent and operational effects of Israeli military activity in Iraq beyond the 1981 Osirak strike are disputed or unclear.
- The practical scope and enforcement of Iraq's 2022 law criminalizing normalization with Israel are unclear.