Script variant, used commonly by the Iraqi Government directly following the official flag modification
Vertical
Since the1958 Iraqi coup d'état, the various republican governments ofIraq have used a number of different flags, all featuring thepan-Arab colors of green, black, white, and red. The current official and internationally recognized flag of Iraq (علم العراق) was adopted in 2008 as a temporary compromise, and consists of the three equal horizontal red, white, and black stripes of theArab Liberation Flag, that was first used byGamal Abdel Nasser during theEgyptian Revolution, with thetakbīr written in green in theKufic script that was originally added bySaddam Hussein following theGulf War.
This basic tricolour has been in use since its adoption on 31 July 1963, with several changes to the green symbols on the central white stripe; the most recent version adopted on 22 January 2008[2] bears thetakbīr rendered in dark green and removes the three green stars present since 1963.[2] The flag was initially meant to be temporary but has remained the official flag long past originally intended.[3]
TheAbbasid Revolution against theUmayyad Caliphate adopted black for itsrāyaʾ for which their partisans were called themusawwids.[5] Their rivals chose other colours in reaction; among these, forces loyal toMarwan II adopted red.[6] The choice of black as the colour of the Abbasid Revolution was already motivated by the "black standards out of Khorasan" tradition associated with theMahdi. The contrast of white vs. black as the Fatimid vs. Abbasid dynastic colour over time developed in white as the colour of Shia Islam and black as the colour of Sunni Islam.[7] After the revolution, Islamic apocalyptic circles admitted that the Abbasid banners would be black but asserted that the Mahdi's standard would be black and larger.[8] Anti-Abbasid circles cursed "the black banners from the East", "first and last".[9]
The first flag of modern Iraq was inMandatory Iraq, and was adopted in 1921. It was ablack-white-green horizontal flag, with a red triangle extending from the mast side, inspired by theflag of the Arab Revolt. It was soon changed to a new version with a redtrapezoid replacing the triangle containing two, seven-point white stars denoting theTigris River and theEuphrates River. Both designs also reflected the newly installedHashemite dynasty in Iraq (originally from theHejaz in theArabian Peninsula), who had played a leading role in theArab Revolt. As such, it was similar to the flags of HashemiteJordan, and the short-livedKingdom of Hejaz.[10][11] The new flag continued to be used in theKingdom of Iraq.
23 August 1921 – 10 July 1924 (ratio: 1:2), reused as Flag of the Arab Federation, of which Iraq was part, January 1, 1958 – December 31, 1958
In 1958, in response to the merger ofEgypt andSyria in theUnited Arab Republic, the two Hashemite kingdoms ofIraq andJordan established theArab Federation, a confederation of the two states. The flag of the union was essentially that ofJordan but without seven pointed star in the red chevron.[12] This flag is identical to theflag of Palestine adopted in 1964, and almost identical to the flag of theBa'ath Party. The union lasted less than six months, being terminated by theIraqi Revolution of 1958 in July.
An Iraqi postage stamp of 40 fils issued in 1960 to commemorate the anniversary of the founding of theIraqi Army. Showcasing the flag. January 1, 1959 – July 31, 1963 (ratio: 1:2)
After the fall of the Ba'athist regime in 2003, the 1959 design was considered for readoption. However, it was rejected by Iraqis who associated it with Abd al-Karim Qasim’s radicalism and objected to the vertical layout, which departed from the horizontal tricolour format standard in the Arab world.
The 1959 flag was relegalized and flown in the Kurdistan Region following the 2003 invasion. Some Kurdish leadership preferred it as a national symbol because it was the only flag to acknowledge their identity. It remained in limited unofficial use until 2008, when the Iraqi parliament removed the three stars (commonly associated with the Ba'ath Party and Nasserist leadership among Kurdish Iraqis) from the national flag, leading the Kurdistan Regional Government to adopt the revised federal banner.[16]
Iraq adopted a variation of the UAR's flag with a third star to represent Iraqi aspirations to join a new Arab Union
Flag of the Iraqi Republic Three-star flag
National flag adopted in 1963 underAbdul Salam Arif to represent a reformed United Arab Republic; later modified in 1991 and used in different forms until 2008.
Proportion
2:3
Adopted
1963; 63 years ago (1963) 2012; 14 years ago (2012) (byIraqi Sunni Arabs)
Relinquished
1991; 35 years ago (1991) (as primary national flag) 2008; 18 years ago (2008) (all variants)
Design
A horizontaltricolour of red, white, and black, charged with 3 equal stars, centered on the white stripe.
After the 1963Ramadan Revolution led to the overthrow ofQasim, the new government adopted a new national flag to represent theNasserist ideology endorsed by PresidentAbdul Salam Arif, officially replacing the flag adopted by Qasim on July 31 of 1963 with Law 28 of 1963.
The Three-star flag is believed to have been originally designed and proposed byJawad Saleem, a Turkish-born artist with origins inMosul who also designed and sculpted theFreedom Monument in Baghdad, originally as a tribute to Qasim's revolution.[17] The horizontal red, white, and black tricolour was based on theUnited Arab Republic (UAR) flag, and featured three green stars symbolizing a desire to join a reunited Egypt and Syria.[18] Saleem died in 1961 before its official adoption.
In a move symbolising support for a reformed UAR,Ba'athist Syria also adopted this flag as its national flag with slightly different proportions until 1971, when it replaced the stars with theHawk of Quraish due to its membership in theFederation of Arab Republics.[19]
Duringhis rule,Saddam Hussein made two significant changes to the 1963 flag. First, he reinterpreted the three stars in the Flag Law No. 33 of 1986 to represent the Ba'ath Party's mottoWaḥda, Ḥurriyya, Ishtirākiyya ("unity, freedom, and socialism"). Second, in 1991, amid theGulf War and as a prelude to theFaith Campaign, he added thetakbīr ("Allahu akbar") between the stars to gain religious support and emphasize Iraq's Islamic identity, moving away from the Ba'ath Party's traditional secular stance. Thehamza over thealif of “Allah” in the main variant seems to be a spelling error according to formalArabic grammar, but it is a common mistake found in many texts.[2] The form of thetakbīr was said to be Saddam's own handwriting.[20] Despite this, the original 1963 flag without the takbīr remained legal and remained in co-official use until 2004, most commonly as acivil ensign or in places where a less religiously sensitive flag was needed, this contrasts the flag's use after 2012 as a symbol of Sunni Arab ethnic and religious affiliation. Following the2003 invasion of Iraq, the three-star flag was used as a symbol of theIraqi Insurgency with rebel groups even without direct Sunni identity or ideology such as the Sufi-ledNaqshbandi Army and ShiaMahdi Army using versions of the flag as a shared symbol.
The 1963 and 1991 flags being flown by Iraqi Sunnis, alongside the 2008 flag during the 2012 Iraqi protests
The 1963 flag reemerged during the2012–2013 Iraqi protests, adopted by many Sunni Arabs as the distinctive ethnic flag to represent Iraqi Sunni Arabs as a whole and a reference to a time when Iraq was dominated by Sunni leadership and perceived as more favorable and secure for Sunnis. Its meaning shifted from a former national flag to one associated with Sunni Arab identity and political expression. Shias and other minority groups in Iraq today generally do not identify with the flag, viewing it primarily as a symbol of Sunni Arab identity and Ba'athist political legacy rather than a unifying national emblem, despite originally being an inherently non-sectarian symbol with Nasserist origins.[21][22]
A mural with the flag alongside an image of Saddam Hussein, destroyed by theCoalition forces during the Iraq War (2007) 15 August 2004 – 22 January 2008 variant of the flag of Iraq with stylizedKufic script (ratio: 2:3)The Pre-Invasion flag being used byU.S. Air Force to represent Iraq after the invasion in 2006
Owing to differing views ona flag proposed by the United States-appointed administration, and the prevailing opposition to an outright abandonment of the current Iraqi flag, a compromise measure was adopted by the U.S.-appointed Iraqi interim administration in 2004. The basic form of the existingflag was retained;[23] however, thetakbīr was rendered in traditional stylizedKufic script, as opposed to the handwriting ofSaddam Hussein.
The modified flag was unveiled at the ceremony marking the technical "handover" of power from theCoalition Provisional Authority occupation forces to the U.S.-appointed administration on 28 July 2004.[24]
Although the 2004 version of the Iraqi flag was introduced as a transitional design intended to reduce overt associations with Saddam Hussein's regime, the current Government of Iraq continues to regard all iterations of the three star flag featuring the takbir between the stars as symbols linked to Ba'athist rule. In March 2025, police in Baghdad arrested a resident of the Sumer district after he raised the 2004 flag over his home, reportedly citing it as an expression of allegiance to the former regime.[25]
22 January 2008[26] – present flag of Iraq (ratio: 2:3)Flag of Iraq being flown alongside theFlag of Kurdistan inErbil (2011)
On 22 January 2008,[26] theCouncil of Representatives of Iraq approved its new design for the national flag, confirmed by Law 9 of 2008 as the compromising temporary replacement for theBa'athist Saddam-era flag. In this current version, the three stars were removed, leaving only thetakbīr (which confused some Iraqis, as this was the part added to the flag directly by Saddam), with the two words of thetakbīr being brought closer together and rendered in bold, and corrected the previous spelling ofAllah (ألله toالله). The removal of the three stars was demanded by the Kurdish population of Iraq, who associated the three stars with theAl-Anfal genocide. But their removal provoked criticism among non-Kurdish Iraqis, mainly Iraqi Arabs, who argued that the stars did not represent the Ba'athist regime, and the city ofFallujah refused to fly the temporary flag that year unless instructed otherwise.[27] Theparliament intended for the new design to last one year, after which a final decision on the flag would be made. However, the flag law was reviewed in parliament on 30 August 2009.[28]
The Iraqi flag consists offour colours: red, white, green and black, inspired by the poetic verse ofSafi al-Din al-Hilli: "Our actions are bright, our battlefields are dark, our lands are green, and our swords are red with the blood of our enemies".[29]
22:January 2008 – present flag of Iraq (ratio: 2:3)
The flag is in the form of arectangle, the width of which is two-thirds of its length, and it consists of three horizontal bands of equal dimensions, the top in red, the middle in white, and the bottom in black, and the wordsʾAllāhu ʾakbar "الله اكبر" inKufic script coloured green is in the middle of the middle white rectangle.
Following the military invasion of Iraq by theUnited States in 2003, the Iraqi government was overthrown, and the Ba'ath party was outlawed. Strong speculation followed that the U.S. government would press for a change in the Iraqi flag to remove its pan-Arab symbolism, and to make a definitive break with the period of Ba'athist rule. To a degree, this view was shared by some groups in Iraq. In addition to some displeasure among Iraqis who had suffered under Saddam Hussein to retaining national symbols used by his government, there was also strong aversion to the flag from Iraq's Kurdish minority, who resented its evocation of pan-Arabism. However, Iraqi opponents of changing the flag argued that since the flag had been used since 1963, long before Saddam Hussein's presidency, it was unfair to characterise it as a "Saddamist" flag. They also stressed that pan-Arabism has been a dominant popular principle among Iraqi's majority population for decades prior to Iraqi independence in 1932.
On 14 August 2004 the U.S.-appointedIraqi Governing Council (IGC) announced a new flag during Saddam's Iraq. The IGC stated that, from around 30 competing entries, it had chosen a design by the distinguished Iraqi artist-architectRifat Chadirji, who lived in London, and is a brother of a member of the IGC. Chadirji commented that the guidelines stipulated that Iraq should be portrayed as part of theWestern world, with historical elements included. The simplicity of his design was inspired by the flags ofCanada andSwitzerland,[30] and it also shares elements (a crescent, stripes, a light blue shade) with the flag of his ethnic group, theIraqi Turkmen.
The design marked a notable break with the three flags of modern Iraqi history (namely the Arab Revolt-inspired flag of the Kingdom, the flag introduced by Abd al-Karim Qasim, and the Arab Liberation inspired flag of 1963), all of which were based on the fourPan-Arab colours. Indeed, of these colours, only white was represented in the IGC design. Moreover, Islamic crescents are usually depicted in green or red in Arab heraldry. The proposed change provoked an intensely negative reaction across groups of Iraq's Arab majority, including those vehemently opposed to Saddam Hussein. Those opposed to the U.S. occupation, includingShi'a clericMuqtada al-Sadr, decried the design as an attempt by the U.S. government to strip Iraq of its identity, and its historically prominent role in theArab world. In particular, critics lamented the proposed abandonment of the Arab Liberation Flag, the omission of the traditional colours ofpan-Arabism, and the removal of thetakbīr.
Additionally, the new flag's predominantly blue-on-white appearance immediately antagonized many in Iraq because of the claim that it was similar to theflag of Israel.
On 28 April 2004, IGC PresidentMasoud Barzani formally presented a modified version of the flag in which the originally very light shade of blue as reported by the press on 26 April 2004 had been changed to a darker tone. It was unclear whether this was a change made because of the protests made against the original design or, as the Council claimed, a rectification of printing errors in the earlier news reports. Barzani also explained that the flag was a temporary design, to be used over the ensuing months until the adoption of a definitive flag.
In the face of the overwhelming public outcry, adoption of the blue crescent flag was abandoned entirely.
Despite the compromise in 2004, opposition to the flag persisted from Kurdish groups. In January 2008, a new design was proposed, removing the three green stars, instead placing a green eight pointed star around a yellow circle in the middle of thetakbīr, which is written in the Kufic script and prized as a Mesopotamian Arabic style, having originated in Iraq.[31] In July 2008, the Iraqi parliament launched a contest to design a new Iraqi flag. The contest ran until September 2008, with 50 designs submitted. Six designs were chosen and sent to the parliament which was to choose a new flag before the end of 2008.[32] Another proposed design was also similar to the 2004–2008 flag, but the script was changed to yellow to represent the Kurdish people in northern Iraq. The meaning of the three stars would be changed to symbolize peace, tolerance and justice.[33]
Third proposal, 2020sFlag of the proposed Basra Federal Region is based on the blue-white-green tricolor
"Flag of the Basra Federal Region" redirects here. For more information, seeBasra Federal Region.
The “Proposed Flag Initiative” was launched in the 2020s and acknowledged by Creative Iraq, a Baghdad-based nationalist design group, the initiative developed a new national flag design to replace the temporary design from 2008.[34] The flag was designed intentionally to remove the Nasserist and Ba'athist influence on the design of the flag, in order to create a distinct, secular flag for the country that acknowledges the shared Mesopotamian heritage of Iraq rather than Nasserist Pan-Arabism. The flag readopts the Qasimist-era Ishtar Star.
Parallel to this national movement, a similar blue-white-green tricolor has been adopted by proponents of theBasra Federal Region to represent their local identity and economic aspirations.[35][36] As this new tricolor has gained visibility, it has become increasingly synonymous with a rising wave of Iraqi nationalism and a "post-Ba'athist" identity among the country's politically active population, following the2019–2021 Iraqi protests.[37] For many, the adoption of these colors represents a broader shift toward a civic-centered Iraqi identity that emphasizes the nation's unique geography and indigenous history over the Pan-Arab motifs of the past.
White flag charged with the emblem of the governorate. The emblem depicts the leaning minaret of theGreat Mosque of al-Nuri, Mosul surrounded by olive branches.
^"country flag".Directorate of Coordination and Protocol Presidency of the Council of Ministers Republic of Iraq. Government of Iraq. Archived fromthe original on 13 February 2022. Retrieved13 February 2022.
^Tabari (1995), Jane McAuliffe (ed.),Abbāsid Authority Affirmed, vol. 28, SUNY, p. 124
^Patricia Crone (2012).The Nativist Prophets of Early Islam. p. 122. As remembered in pro-Umayyad apocalyptic: p. 125}
^"The proselytes of the ʿAbbasid revolution took full advantage of the eschatological expectations raised by black banners in their campaign to undermine the Umayyad dynasty from within. Even after the ʿAbbasids had triumphed over the Umayyads in 750, they continued to deploy black as their dynastic colour; not only the banners but the headdresses and garments of the ʿAbbasid caliphs were black [...] The ubiquitous black created a striking contrast with the banners and dynastic color of the Umayyads, which had been white [...] The Ismaili Shiʿite counter-caliphate founded by the Fatimids took white as its dynastic color, creating a visual contrast to the ʿAbbasid enemy [...] white became the Shiʿite color, in deliberate opposition to the black of the ʿAbbasid 'establishment'." Jane Hathaway,A Tale of Two Factions: Myth, Memory, and Identity in Ottoman Egypt and Yemen, 2012,pp. 97f.
^Podeh, Elie; Pôde, Ēlî (2011-06-30).The Politics of National Celebrations in the Arab Middle East. Cambridge University Press. p. 144.ISBN9781107001084.
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