Iraq is a country in Western Asia.

The Ottoman Empire had post offices at Baghdad, Basra, Mosul, and Kirkuk around 1863. India operated post offices in Baghdad and Basra from 1868 to 1914. During World War I, British and Indian troops fought their way from Basra to Mosul, where they used stamps of India overprinted "I.E.F." on military mail.

The British overprinted a variety of Turkish stamps during the occupation, a grouping now called the issues of "Mesopotamia".

The postal service of Iraq proper began with the British mandate granted by the League of Nations in 1920.

The first stamps of Iraq were a definitive series that appeared in 1923, the set of 12 included eight different designs depicting scenes and images from ancient history and the present day. They were denominated in annas and rupees, inscribed with "IRAQ" and "POSTAGE & REVENUE".