Squire Patton Boggs Assists Iraq as Country’s US Relations Sour

The Iraq government has enlisted Squire Patton Boggs as its adviser in Washington amid a surge in violence in the Middle East that has soured the relationship between Baghdad and the US.

The law firm on Feb. 6 began offering “policy advice and outreach concerning the political and commercial bilateral relationship between the Republic of Iraq and the US,” according to a Foreign Agents Registration Act submission published Thursday.

The Iraq government is set to pay Squire Patton Boggs $65,000 per month for a 12-month lobbying engagement, the filing shows.

“Iraq and the United States are longtime allies, and we are honored to have been retained to provide policy advice and outreach concerning the bilateral relationship between the two countries at this important juncture,” Squire Patton Boggs spokesman Angelo Kakolyris said in a statement.

The FARA disclosure comes as tensions flare between the US and Iraq. The US on Wednesday killed the commander of an Iran-backed militia in a drone strike in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad as part of a response to a deadly attack on a US base in Jordan. The attack followed US strikes on other Iran-linked targets in Iraq and Syria last week.

Iraq has threatened to pull support for the US coalition in Iraq over the attacks.

The swell of violence stems from the Hamas attack in Israel Oct. 7 and Israel’s subsequent military response in Gaza. US bases in the Middle East have been targeted by Iranian-backed group more than a 100 times since the violence erupted, Bloomberg News reported.

Squire Patton Boggs, among the largest law and lobbying shops in Washington, has regularly advised foreign nations in the US. Clients have included the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Angola.

Gassan Baloul, a co-chair of Squire Patton Boggs’ Middle East practice, is leading the Iraq representation, according to FARA disclosures. Ed Newberry, a leader in the firm’s lobbying practice, and Paul Jones, a former charge d’Affaires for the US Embassy in Pakistan, are also working on the matter.