This report describes recent developments in the large-scale assistance program, the Iraq Relief and Reconstruction Fund (IRRF), undertaken by the United States and the international community in an effort to rehabilitate economic infrastructure and introduce representative government to post-war Iraq, and examines key issues of potential interest to Congress.

This report examines Iran's influence in Iraq post-Saddam. This is in large part because the dominant parties in Iraq have long-standing ideological, political, and religious sectarian ties to Tehran. A key U.S. concern is that Iran, seeking to ensure the political prospects of its proteges, supports Shiite militias that are committing sectarian violence. Since December 2006, the Administration has tried to reverse Iranian influence in Iraq while also engaging Iran diplomatically on Iraq.