As protests spread in southern Iraq, particularly in Basra, there have been renewed demands for autonomy in the oil-rich governorate. Walid al-Kitan, head of the Basra Provincial Council, announced July 24 that 15 out of 25 members of the local government had signed a petition to establish an independent region of Basra.

However, Tariq Harb, a former adviser of the prime minister, believes that the petition isn't likely to succeed because the council's work ended in in June 2017. New provincial elections have been delayed until December 2018, with Sunni leaders arguing that elections cannot be held until those displaced by conflict have returned to their regions.

The concept of autonomous regions, which have been heavily promoted and politically exploited since 2013, is a thorny issue among Iraqis, many of whom resist the idea of the division of Iraq. However, it may be argued that calls for an autonomous Basra governorate are merely an attempt to pressure the central government to disburse the governorate's budget allocation and provide better services.

Basra is economically the most important province in Iraq, the third largest governorate with a population of more than 1.5 million people, situated between Iran and the Gulf states. The oil-rich governorate contributes a major part of Iraq’s federal budget. In June 2018, the Baghdad-based central government exported 105 million barrels of oil from Basra, which produces 2.8 million barrels on a daily basis. Nevertheless, the governorate's residents do not benefit from its riches.