The Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party (spelled "Ba'th" or "Baath", "resurrection" or "renaissance"; Arabic: حزب البعث العربي الاشتراكي Ḥizb al-Ba‘th al-‘Arabī al-Ishtirākī), also referred to as the pro-Iraqi Ba'ath movement, is a Ba'athist political party which was headquartered in Baghdad, Iraq, until 2003.

[8] After Saddam was executed on 30 December 2006, Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri became de facto leader of the Ba'ath Party on 3 January 2007.

[9] The Nationalist Democratic Assembly (Arabic: التجمع القومي الديمقراطي, Al-Tajamu'u Al-Qawmi Al-Dimuqratiyah) represents the Iraqi-dominated Ba'ath Party in Bahrain.

[14] The party opposes the government's naturalisation policies and contends that it is unfair for ethnic Bahrainis to compete equally with foreign workers for jobs.

[18] The party was outlawed in the early 1990s and two Iraqi Intelligence Officials were detained on 14 April 1991 with $38,000 in their possession, money which the Egyptian authorities claimed was to be used to fund sabotage operations in Egypt.

[19] Several other Egyptian Ba'athists, including the poet Muhammad Afifi Matar, were also detained in April 1991 on suspicion of involvement in an Iraqi terrorist plot.

[24] Saddam Hussein sought to be seen as leader of a great neo-Mesopotamian Iraqi nation by having himself compared to Nebuchadnezzar II and Hammurabi.

Following pressure by the United States, the policy of de-Ba'athification was addressed by the Iraqi government in January 2008 with its controversial Accountability and Justice Act.

[29] The reason being that both Ba'ath parties (the pro-Iraqi and the pro-Syrian) have replaced ideology with blind allegiance to Saddamist discourse or the al-Assad rule.

[29] Today, in contrast to Ba'athist ideology both the pro-Iraq and pro-Syrian Ba'ath branches are considered largely irrelevant in the Jordanian political scene.

[34] According to a Cablegate document dating back to 2007, the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party figure Ahmed Al Dmour was considered one of the biggest threats to Islamic Action Front dominance on the political scene.

[35] In 2023, the Jordanian Ba'ath Party's licence to participate in the local elections was renewed, causing criticism from Iraqi figures.

[55] Amr Taher Deghayes, founder of the Libyan Ba'ath branch, was later arrested by Gaddafi's security forces and died after three days in jail.

[56] Deghayes' death allegedly sparked a large anti-government demonstration (which was crushed), followed by the imprisonment of several leading Ba'athists.

Because of their efforts, Mohammed Yehdih Ould Breideleil, the Ba'ath leader, was appointed Minister of Information for a short period in 1984.

[63] However, by 1986–1987 the Ba'ath had managed to infiltrate the officer corps and the enlisted ranks, making them a threat to Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya and his rule.

[63] Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya, with Saddam Hussein's approval, expelled and banned Ba'athist personnel in the military in 1988.

[64][65] With Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, the Ba'ath party lost its popular appeal and the financial aid from the Iraqi embassy dried up.

The branch has maintained good relations with the Baghdad-based Ba'ath Party, even after Saddam Hussein's downfall following the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Kabry Ould Taleb Jiddou, the party's leader, was awarded the office of Secretary of State by the newly elected Government because of his electoral campaign.

However, the Mauritanian Government supported Iraq during the Gulf War,[69] and Iraq–Mauritania relations became so close that (inaccurate) rumors circulated internationally that Saddam's family had taken refuge in the country following the American invasion.

[73][74] The National Vanguard Party was accused of developing plans in collaboration with the Iraqi government to foment unrest in the country.

This caused the ALF to be controlled by the pro-Iraq Ba'ath movement, thus weakening its effectiveness and influence, but saving it from infighting between Palestinianists and Ba'athists (a problem in al-Sa'iqa).

[81] Because of Saddam Hussein's amicable relationship with the Revolutionary Command Council for National Salvation, the body ruling Sudan, the Ba'ath branched was oppressed by the authorities.

[86] The party does not support Syria's expulsion from the Arab League and asserts that foreign nations should play a neutral role in the Syrian Civil War.

[88] On 4 February 2012, the executive committee of the Ba'ath Movement released a communiqué condemning the provisional Tunisian government's expulsion of the Syrian ambassador.

The committee predicted that the Syrian ambassador's expulsion would militarise the conflict, mobilising Arab opinion against the government and leading to military intervention.

Its membership is younger and its political position more at the left of the historically Baath Movement and is headed by Kheireddine Souabni and Ahmed Seddik.

[91] The National Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Yemen Region (Arabic: حزب البعث العربي الاشتراكي القومي - قطر اليمن Hizb Al-Ba'ath Al-Arabi Al-Ishtiraki Al-Qawmi – Qutr Al-Yaman)[92] is led by Qassem Salam Said as Secretary of the Regional Command[93] while Abdulwahid Hawash serves as Deputy Secretary.

[93] Politically, the party is allied with the ruling General People's Congress and during the 2011 Arab Spring this position caused an internal split.