The post-2003 transformation of Iraq has positioned the country as one of the principal arenas of regional power competition, where Iran and Turkey, through distinct strategic approaches, have sought to redefine their respective roles within Iraq’s and the broader region’s security architecture. In this context, Turkey’s Neo-Ottomanism and Iran’s Axis of Resistance represent two competing paradigms of regional power projection and order-building, each generating significant implications for Iraq’s sovereignty, stability, and security. This study seeks to explain the security consequences of the rivalry between these two strategic frameworks for Iraq’s security environment. The central research question asks: How has the competition between Neo-Ottomanism and the Axis of Resistance shaped Iraq’s security environment? The study hypothesizes that Iran and Turkey have each oscillated between strategies of securitization and desecuritization depending on the sector and contextual setting. Regardless of which actor assumed the dominant securitizing role at a given juncture, their strategic competition has collectively reproduced multilayered and unstable security dynamics within Iraq. Employing a qualitative research design and a descriptive-analytical method, the study draws upon documentary and library-based sources. The data are analyzed through thematic analysis within the theoretical framework of the Copenhagen School’s Securitization Theory. The findings demonstrate that Iran–Turkey rivalry across the political, military, economic, societal, and environmental sectors has transformed Iraq’s security environment into a multilayered and contested space. By intensifying threat perceptions, expanding regional interventions, and constraining Iraq’s capacity for autonomous governance, this rivalry has further exacerbated the country’s structural security fragility.