Circle the area on this map
B. Iraq is bordered to the east by Iran, Kuwait to the southeast, Saudi Arabia to the south, Jordan to the southwest, Syria to the west and Turkey to the north. Iran has gained major influence in Iraq in the years since the United States and its allies invaded Iraq in 2003 to topple Saddam Hussein’s regime. Hussein had invaded Iran in 1980 starting an eight-year war.
A. In Iraq, the Baghdad Airport attack which killed Suleimani and an Iraqi militia leader, was seen as a violation of the nation’s sovereignty. Iraq’s parliament voted to end the presence of U.S. troops in the country. There are about 5,000 U.S. soldiers in Iraq as part of the international coalition against the Islamic State group.
C. About two-thirds of Iraq’s 40 million people are Shia Muslims and most of the rest are Sunni Muslims. Shia lawmakers backed the expulsion. Iran is the largest majority Shia Muslim nation, with more than 90 percent of its 83 million people in the sect. Suleimani was the mastermind of Iran’s military support for powerful Shia militias in Iraq and throughout the Mideast.
B. Saudi Arabia and Iran have long clashed over religion and political power in the region. Saudi troops are fighting Iran-backed Shia rebels in Yemen. Last year, Saudi Arabia’s Sunni rulers accused Iran for drone attacks that crippled the Saudi oil industry. But, Yemeni rebels claimed responsibility for that attack.