Relationship dossier
Iraq
Syria
Relationship assessment
A history of security disputes and political alignment, now shaped by Syria’s post-Assad transition.
Iraq toward Syria
+5Iraq accused the Syrian government of allowing militants to cross into Iraq after 2003, but later maintained political support for Bashar al-Assad and cooperated with his government against Islamic State. Iraq’s policy toward Syria’s post-Assad authorities is not yet clear enough to characterize as a sustained pattern.
Syria toward Iraq
-20The Syrian government denied Iraqi accusations that it allowed militants to enter Iraq after 2003. The dispute became acute in 2009, when Iraq recalled its ambassador after accusing Syrian officials of involvement in bombings in Baghdad; Syria rejected the accusations. The breadth of later security cooperation is unclear.
Overall relationship
-10The relationship has been shaped by recurring security disputes, including Iraqi accusations about militant infiltration and the 2009 diplomatic crisis, alongside later political alignment and cooperation against Islamic State. Syria’s change of government in 2024 makes the durability of those arrangements uncertain.
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–Syria relations have combined security cooperation with serious disputes. After 2003, Iraq accused the Syrian government of allowing militants to enter Iraq, while Syria denied responsibility. The Iraqi government later maintained political support for Bashar al-Assad and cooperated against Islamic State. The fall of Assad in 2024 created a major change in Syria’s government, and the scope of subsequent bilateral cooperation remains unclear.
Areas of tension
- Iraqi allegations that the Syrian government allowed militants to enter Iraq after 2003.
- The 2009 dispute over Iraqi accusations linking Syrian officials to bombings in Baghdad.
Key developments
Iraq recalled its ambassador after accusing Syrian officials of involvement in bombings in Baghdad; Syria rejected the accusations.
Iraq maintained political support for Bashar al-Assad’s government during the Syrian conflict.
Iraq and the Syrian government shared an interest in combating Islamic State and cooperated on security matters.
The fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government brought a major change in Syria’s political authorities.
Major uncertainties
- The scope and continuity of security cooperation between Iraq and Syria’s post-Assad authorities are unclear.
- The extent of Syrian government support for, or control over, militant networks entering Iraq after 2003 remains disputed.