Iraq is located in the Middle East, between Iran and Saudi Arabia. Iraq is also bordered by Jordan and Syria to the west, Kuwait to the south, and Turkey to the north. A very small sliver of the Persian Gulf (58 kilometers, or 36.04 miles) abuts Iraq on its southeast border. With an area of 437,072 square kilometers (168,753 square miles), Iraq is slightly more than twice the size of Idaho. Iraq's capital city, Baghdad, is located in the center of the country. Other major city include al-Basra in the south and Mosul in the north.Iraq was the most famous country at oil.Iraq, in an area once home to some of the earliest civilisations, became a battleground for competing forces after the US-led ousting of President Saddam Hussein in 2003.