The Roots and Consequences of ʿAbd al-Karim Qasim Regime's Hostile Policies Towards Iran: 1958–1963

This article primarily seeks to explore the threats posed by the post July 1958 regime in Iraq headed by ʿAbd al-Karim Qasim to Iran's national security and the regime of Shah Muhammad Riza Pahlavi. It will also explore the Shah's own threat perceptions, which impacted the severity of his responses to the threats he perceived from Iraq. This article plans to do this within the context of Iran's politics at the time and the ongoing Cold War between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R., which also impacted Iran. This is because until now, Iraq-Iran relations during Qasim's regime (1958–1963) have not been closely researched from a Cold War perspective. Consequently, the article will place special focus on the Qasim regime's cooperation with the Iraqi Communist Party (ICP) and cooperation with the Iranian communist party called Tudeh (“masses”). Another Cold War-related Qasim policy that concerned the Shah was Iraq's establishing and improving relations with the U.S.S.R. This was of particular concern to the Shah, as from 1958 to 1962, Iran-Soviet relations were going through a difficult period, owing to Iran signing a bilateral security agreement with the U.S. in March 1959.