Middle East

How will US withdrawal from Iran nuclear deal influence Iraq?

Iraq's political progress will likely be hindered by the US' decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal, analysts say, since the two rival countries continue to back different sides in Iraq.

As Iraq gears up for its first parliamentary elections on Saturday since the defeat of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) last year, experts say the roles played by the US and Iran over the past several years have heavily influenced Iraq's political scene.

While the US backs the government of Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, Iran backs Shia-dominated paramilitaries loyal to its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

According to experts, the US and Iran's influence in Iraq date back to the US-led invasion in 2003, which removed former president Saddam Hussein from power.

The US then ordered the dismantlement of Iraq's army and banned the Sunni Baath Party from government under the de-Baathification law.

The Baath party had been in power for 40 years prior and, under the new law, many Iraqis who were party affiliates lost their jobs. Consequently, an estimated 400,000 people became marginalised in Iraqi society.