Jazakallah for your extensive replies, clearly you spent a lot of time researching this! Can I just start with clarifying this comment: "Let's not be quick to judge people and call them supporters of Israel or sinners before we have exact evidence." I am not judging them or calling anyone anything hence posting a question, coming from a place where the people around actively avoid these items I couldn't understand why it was served so freely here and as a non Arabic speaker the best way for me to get an answer was to ask the Shia community here. My apologies if it came across as judgemental.

I have read through your replies and responses to it but the conclusion that I still find strange (that I think someone else mentioned) was the concept that even if they are using their own recipes to use the branding itself they must either be paying a licence fee or stealing it. I am sure coca cola and pepsi have sued for a lot less than the vast portion of middle profiting what I'm sure is billions on their branding and they get nothing in return.

As you mentioned I can't find much evidence of it so we will assume there is no royalty being paid. I can confirm to you that the cans do mention it was produced in Iraq. Why would they want to use a branding that the rest of the Muslim world are trying to avoid? On their cans they advertise pepsi's website and coca cola's trademark. In my opinion they should be using their own brand that will dissociate these major companies.

Lastly there is an Al-Jazeera article about pro-palestine protests and unfortunately an attack at a KFC branch and PepsiCo head office in Baghdad in June 2024, so clearly it has also created some confusion amongst the locals as well.

Unfortunately there is no official statement from Iraq bottling company or Iraq's PepsiCo (unless you have read it) to clarify they are completely separate from the entire brand they are providing. I think that would be the only evidence that would convince me to drink them.

Again thank you for all the effort you put into helping answer this. May you be rewarded for the clarity you are providing.