Abstarct: This current study examines the cultural components integrated in the “English for Iraq” secondary-level textbooks are examined and the way these cultural elements are percieved by learners within the Iraqi EFL context is evaluated. Grounded in belief that language and culture cannot be seperated, the research aims to determine the balance between local (Iraqi/Arab), target (Anglophone), and international cultural content, and to investigate the pedagogical implications of this balance for developing intercultural communicative competence. A qualitative phenomenological design was employed. Semi-structured interviews comprising twenty questions about the culture incorporated in the Iraqi curriculum were conducted with ten secondary-school students (five males and five females) from the fifth and sixth preparatory grades in Baghdad and Basra public schools. The interview data were analyzed by using Braun and Clarke's (2006) six-phase thematic analysis. Results suggest that the students regard the textbooks as noticeable a visible but inadequate range of Iraqi cultural material, with the representation skewed toward target and international themes while under-representing Iraqi and Arab-Islamic cultural elements. Students mentioned a favorable emotional and motivational replies to local cultural content, functioned its role in comprehension, vocabulary retention, and cultural identity, and called for a more balanced integration of local, target, and international cultures. The study suggests a more balanced incorporation of cultures, deeper treatment of the underlying cultural dimensions, and targeted pedagogical guidance to assist learners to attract with cultural content critically and confidently. Suggestions for further studies are also offerred.