Royal Iraqi Armed Forces
| Royal Iraqi Armed Forces | |
|---|---|
| القوات المسلحة الملكية العراقية | |
| Founded | 1936 |
| Service branches |
 Royal Iraqi Army Royal Iraqi Navy Royal Iraqi Air Force National Guard |
| Headquarters | Baghdad |
| Leadership | |
| Commander-in-Chief | King Salah Al-Sadr |
| Minister of Defense | Bayar Zaidan |
| Chief of the General Staff | Colonel General Abdullah al-Siyabi |
| Personnel | |
| Military age | 18–45 |
| Conscription | 1.5 years |
| Active personnel | 193,000 |
| Expenditures | |
| Budget | $23 billion |
| Related articles | |
| History |
Great Arab Revolt Iraqi-Hashemite War War in the Levant Syrian Civil War Yemeni Civil War |
The Royal Iraqi Armed Forces (Arabic: القوات المسلحة الملكية العراقية , Al-Quwat Al-Musalahat Al-Malakiat Al-Irakia) are the military forces of the Kingdom of Iraq. They consist of the ground forces, navy, air force, and national guard. The King of Iraq, Salah Al-Sadr, is the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. The current Chief of the General Staff is Colonel General Abdullah al-Siyabi.
The military of Iraq has a long and active history. The Iraqi army traces its origin to the tribal warriors that fought in the Great Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire for the independence of Iraq. It fought and defeated Hashemite Arabia during the Iraqi-Hashemite War of 1940–1941 and remained neutral during Great War I. During the Cold War, Iraq aligned itself with the Western Bloc and recieved western military equipment to help modernize their military and to strengthen Iraq as a western ally in the Middle East during the Arab Cold War especially after the establishment of the Syrian Arab Republic in 1964 which became Iraq's regional rival not long after its creation.
In 1984, the Iraqi military fought Syria in the War in the Levant for control over the historic region of the Levant. Iraq launched the first attacks and despite making headway into Syria, its invasion was stalled not long afterwards and the conflict became a five year-long protracted war between both Iraq and Syria with both nations suffering heavy casualties and ended in 1989 with direct intervention by the League of Nations. It remains the deadliest conflict in Iraq's military history with over 125,000 military dead by lower estimates. Iraq and Syria remained bitte rivals well into the dawn of the new millenium with the military becoming highly prioritized in the country.
Since the 2004 invasion of Syria, the Royal Iraqi Armed Forces has been active in numerous conflicts from participation in the Syrian Civil War as part of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to the Yemeni Civil War participating in the Hashemite-led intervention in Yemen. Iraq has also participated in numerous League of Nations peacekeeping missions as well since the 2000s and the Iraqi Army has become one fo the most trusted institutions in the country in the modern era.