WI: Iraq as a British colony from the early 19th century

In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, there was quite a bit of British influence in Iraq, which was de jure Ottoman but de facto independent. This emerged quite gradually. In 1763, the East India Company established trade in Basra and in 1798, a permanent British resident was established, and when Mahmud II began to reunify the Ottoman Empire, British influence increased even further. Of course, this came for naught, as the Ottomans reconquered Iraq and deposed the local dynasty, but assuming the Ottomans dissolve in all but name in the early 19th century rather than making a comeback, and assuming British influence in Iraq continues to grow and grow until Iraq becomes a colony which may or may not be ruled by local puppet rulers, what would this look like?
 
Well, you'd see Persia between Mesopotamia (I presume that'd be the name) and India, so you might see the British trying to lure it into their sphere, too - otherwise I can see Persia trying to take it instead.

The reason the Ottomans dissolve might be crucial. If the war of Greek Independence gets bloodier and the Russians reall crush the Ottomans, the British may feel the need to make it a much more official colony with much larger presence, whereas, if it's just a gradual breakup caused by a complete revolt by Egypt, then Britain might feel more comfortable having local rulers who would be treated just like the Egyptians, with Britain trying to lure them into and keep them in their sphere of influence.

Actually, another thought - in the first case, if the Russians are pummeling the Ottomans and the latter breaks up, the British will be worrying about any sort of warm water access; and they might be able to lure the Persians into their orbit by convincing them that the big, bad Russians are coming after them next.
 
Well, you'd see Persia between Mesopotamia (I presume that'd be the name) and India, so you might see the British trying to lure it into their sphere, too - otherwise I can see Persia trying to take it instead.

Persia in the British sphere seems quite difficult, just as difficult as how it brought Egypt into their sphere IOTL. Could we just see Persia go to war with Britain and lose with frontier lands like Khuzestan and Baluchistan taken?
 
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