The Role of Environmental Elements in Creating Future Tensions between Iran and Iraq

Environment is one of the main pillars of sustainable development. In this regard, efforts are being made to adjust the development process in such a way that the natural system does not lose its dynamism and balance while maximizing economic activities. The facts around us show that the planet is undergoing an environmental crisis. Depletion of forests, air and water pollution, global warming and climate change, rising seas, accumulation of urban and industrial waste and depletion of resources, destruction of pastures, reduction of biodiversity, destruction of the ozone layer, are all examples of environmental crises. One of the most important environmental crises in arid and semi-arid areas is the devastating phenomenon of desertification and wind erosion, which the occurrence of dust storms and the motion of the fine dusts are the consequences of it. In recent years, dust storms in the Middle East, especially from the origins of Saudi Arabia deserts and Iraq, have had a lot of harmful effects on Iran, whose scope has grown to major cities. The extent of the damage of this phenomenon was not limited to the threat of agricultural and industrial land, but rather to the disruption of citizens' normal lives. It has clearly become a serious environmental threat with economic, political and security implications, and has led to the reaction of public opinion. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of environmental factors and especially the fine dusts as a geopolitical phenomenon on national security and tension between countries. Therefore, it has been attempted to show that, given the origin of the fine dusts, which are mostly from Iraq, and their harmful effects and consequences for most of the regions of the southwestern part of Iran in recent years. This issue can in the future be a serious threat to national security, and will ultimately led to the hostility of relationship between Iran and Iraq. The present study focuses on the Hammer Dixon environmental approach to explain the potential causes of conflict between Iran and Iraq based on the issue of environmental pollution.