Iraq operates on Arabia Standard Time (AST), which is 3 hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC+3). The entire country follows a single timezone. Iraq discontinued daylight saving time in 2008.
Major cities including Baghdad, Basra, Mosul, Erbil, and Najaf all follow AST. Iraq shares its timezone with Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and Yemen.
Iraq is often called the "Cradle of Civilization" as it encompasses ancient Mesopotamia, where writing, the wheel, and mathematics were invented. Baghdad was once the largest city in the world and the center of the Islamic Golden Age. The Tigris and Euphrates rivers, which flow through Iraq, are among the most historically significant waterways on Earth.