Miss Iraq's family forced to flee the country after selfie with Miss Israel

Sarah Idan was the first Iraqi woman to feature at Miss Universe in 45 years but rather than being hailed a hero, her entire family has been forced to flee the country.

The 27-year-old singer said she was "on cloud nine" after fulfilling her life-long dream of entering the pageant, but her time there has now come back to haunt her.

It all comes down to one selfie Ms Idan posted on Instagram of her with Miss Israel, Adar Gandelsman. The post was captioned: "Peace and Love from Miss Iraq and Miss Israel".

"I said: 'Let's take a picture so our people can see we don't have a problem and we're actually ambassadors for peace'," she told CNN.

However it has since backfired terribly, as Iraq and Israel consider one another enemies and have no diplomatic ties. The former is also known to oppose the country's treatment of Palestinians.

Ms Idan said she had no idea the image would cause outrage.

"I woke up to calls from my family and the Miss Iraq organisation going insane. The death threats I got online were so scary," Ms Idan told CNN.

"People in Iraq recognised my family, they immediately knew who they were. And they were getting death threats.

"My mom was freaking out. I told her: 'Mom, just get out. Get out.'"

Ms Idan then posted a message on her Instagram page apologising "to anyone who considered the photo to be offensive to the Palestinian cause".

"This was not the aim behind the post," she wrote, "it was merely a call to peace and hope for a solution to the crisis."

Ms Gandelsman has since spoken out in support of Ms Idan in an Israeli TV appearance.

Newshub.