The removal of Sad­dam Hus­sein from power in Iraq by the US dur­ing the inva­sion of the coun­try in 2003 strength­ened Iran’s strate­gic via­bil­ity and increased its regional pop­u­lar­ity, espe­cially among Iraq’s Shia majority.

‘Remov­ing Sad­dam strength­ened Iran’