Euphrates-Tigris water dispute: New chapter in Türkiye-Iraq relations

As water scarcity intensifies in the Middle East, the longstanding dispute over the Euphrates-Tigris rivers between upstream Türkiye and downstream Iraq has gained renewed urgency. Iraq often accuses Türkiye of restricting the flow, whereas Türkiye maintains it has acted within its rights and in good faith.

Competition over the Euphrates-Tigris basin dates back decades, as Türkiye, Syria and Iraq pursued ambitious water projects. In 1975, severe drought and the filling of new dams in Türkiye and Syria sharply reduced Euphrates flows into Iraq, sparking a crisis that was defused only after mediation prompted Syria to release more water. Throughout the 1980s, the three riparian states formed a Joint Technical Committee, and Türkiye proposed a “Three-Stage Plan” for equitable basin management, seeking to jointly measure water supply and needs before allocating shares. No comprehensive accord was reached at the time, as downstream states preferred fixed quotas. Partial deals emerged: notably, Türkiye’s 1987 protocol with Syria guaranteed a minimum Euphrates flow of 500 cubic meters per second, though Iraq feared Syria’s usage would leave too little for Iraq. Despite periods of hostilities (even when Iraq and Syria were adversarial on other fronts), Ankara kept dialogue open on water issues.

By the 1990s, Türkiye’s massive Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP), which was