[2] The Director of the Basrah Antiquities & Heritage is Qahtan Al Abeed, who has managed the project from the start with the cooperation of the State Board of Antiquities & Heritage and the Ministry of Culture and with support from the UK Friends of Basrah Museum.

During 2008, Iraqi and U.S. forces executed numerous combat operations from this base to defeat the Mahdi Army and restore peace and order to Basra.

The Friends of Basrah Museum is the organisation that raised the funds for the first gallery's installation through generous corporate and individual donations.

[3] FOBM received a UK Cultural Protection Fund [CPF][4] Grant award in December 2016, managed by the British Council in partnership with the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to support the completion of the new Basrah Museum.

The museum officially opened its doors to the public in March 2019 with three new galleries: Babylon, Sumer and Assyrian.