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Is Iran seeking to impose its influence in Iraq's liberated Sunni areas?

The opening of a school in Ninevah province under the name of Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of Iran’s Islamic Revolution, stirred a wide debate within political and public circles in Iraq, as some saw the move as an attempt to provoke some Iraqis.
Iraqi girls play in a yard of a school in Mosul, Iraq July 18, 2017. REUTERS/Ari Jalal - RC1CE6912440

BAGHDAD — On Sept. 14, an elementary school was inaugurated in Bartella in Ninevah province. The school, funded by Iran, was named after the leader of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

Iraq’s Sunni population, specifically in Ninevah province, associates Khomeini with the Iran-Iraq War that lasted from 1980 to 1988. The image of the former leader of the Islamic Revolution brings back dark memories for the people in the Iraqi province.

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