Iraqi Moaveds ( fa, معاودین عراقی) are a group of 350,000-650,000 Iraqi Persians who were deported from

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

by the Ba'ath dictatorship because of their Iranian ancestry. Thousands of Shi'ah of Iranian origin but whose families had resided for generations in the Shi'ah religious centers of

Karbala Karbala or Kerbala ( ar, كَرْبَلَاء, Karbalāʾ , , also ;) is a city in central Iraq, located about southwest of Baghdad, and a few miles east of Lake Milh, also known as Razzaza Lake. Karbala is the capital of Karbala Governorat ...

and

Najaf Najaf ( ar, ٱلنَّجَف) or An-Najaf al-Ashraf ( ar, ٱلنَّجَف ٱلْأَشْرَف), also known as Baniqia ( ar, بَانِيقِيَا), is a city in central Iraq about 160 km (100 mi) south of Baghdad. Its estimated popula ...

, were expelled from Iraq, in the early 1970s and before Iran-Iraq war. The exact number of this group is not clear and ranging from 350,000U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI)
/ref> to 650,000. Many of them who could prove an Iranian origin in the court get Iranian citizenship (400,000) and some of them returned to Iraq after

Saddam Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolution ...

. Many Iraqi Moaveds hold or have held high positions in the government of

Islamic Republic of Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

such as Shahroudi (head of Judicial system of Iran), General

Mohammad Reza Naqdi Mohammad Reza Naqdi (also spelled "Naghdi"; fa, محمدرضا نقدی) is a senior officer in the Revolutionary Guards. Background According to the biography published by the semi-official Fars News Agency, Naqdi was born in March 1961 in a m ...

(commander of the Basij paramilitary force), Hamid-Reza Assefi and

Ali Akbar Salehi Ali Akbar Salehi ( fa, علی‌اکبر صالحی, ; born 24 March 1949) is an Iranian academic, diplomat and former head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, who served in this position from 2009 to 2010 and also from 2013 to 2021. He se ...

(Minister of Foreign Affairs).

References

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Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

Iran–Iraq relations Iranian people of Iraqi descent

See also

References