Arvand Rud: Difference between revisions
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{{Infobox_river | river_name = Shatt al-Arab (Arvandrud) |
{{Infobox_river | river_name = Shatt al-Arab (Arvandrud) |
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| image_name = |
| image_name = Shatt al arab.png |
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| caption = View of the Shatt al-Arab (Arvandrud) from a bridge between [[Khorramshahr]] and [[Abadan]] |
| caption = View of the Shatt al-Arab (Arvandrud) from a bridge between [[Khorramshahr]] and [[Abadan]] |
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| origin = [[Tigris]], [[Euphrates]] and [[Karun]] |
| origin = [[Tigris]], [[Euphrates]] and [[Karun]] |
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Conflicting territorial claims and disputes over navigation rights between Iran and Iraq were among the main factors for the [[Iraq-Iran War]] that lasted from 1980 to 1988, when the pre-1980 status quo was restored. The Iranian cities of [[Abadan]] and [[Khorramshahr]] and the Iraqi city and major port of [[Basra]] are situated along this river. |
Conflicting territorial claims and disputes over navigation rights between Iran and Iraq were among the main factors for the [[Iraq-Iran War]] that lasted from 1980 to 1988, when the pre-1980 status quo was restored. The Iranian cities of [[Abadan]] and [[Khorramshahr]] and the Iraqi city and major port of [[Basra]] are situated along this river. |
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[[Image: |
[[Image:Arvand-Iran.JPG|right|thumb|photo] |
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Prior to World War I, approximately 200 pillars were erected into the middle of the river to mark the edge of the Iranian controlled sections of the Arvand Rud. |
Prior to World War I, approximately 200 pillars were erected into the middle of the river to mark the edge of the Iranian controlled sections of the Arvand Rud. |
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Revision as of 06:30, 12 June 2007
See also Shatt al-Arab (Arvand Rud) This article is only about the Iranian controlled sections of the Arvand Rud. This article is different from the Shatt al-Arab article.
| Arvand Rud | |
|---|---|
| Physical characteristics | |
| Mouth | Persian Gulf |
• elevation | 0 units? |
| Length | 200 km |
Arvand Rūd (Persian: اروندرود, literally Arvand River), also known as the Shatt al-Arab or (Arabic: شط العرب, literally Coast of the Arabs), is a river in Southwest Asia of some 200 km in length, formed by the confluence of the Euphrates and the Tigris in the town of al-Qurnah in the Basra Governorate of southern Iraq. The southern end of the river constitutes the border between Iraq and Iran down to the mouth of the river as it discharges into the Persian Gulf. It varies in width from about 760 feet (232 m) at Basra to 0.5 mile (0.8 km) at its mouth. The Karun river, a tributary which joins the waterway from the Iranian side, deposits large amounts of silt into the river; this necessitates continuous dredging to keep it navigable. It is thought that the waterway formed relatively recently in geologic time, with the Tigris and Euphrates originally emptying into the Persian Gulf via a channel further to the west.
Territorial disputes
For a long time, starting from the Achaemenid Empire (559 BC) until the Afsharid dynasty in 1747, the river was for most of the time under Persian rule and was called Arvandrud by the Persians[citation needed].
Conflicting territorial claims and disputes over navigation rights between Iran and Iraq were among the main factors for the Iraq-Iran War that lasted from 1980 to 1988, when the pre-1980 status quo was restored. The Iranian cities of Abadan and Khorramshahr and the Iraqi city and major port of Basra are situated along this river.
[[Image:Arvand-Iran.JPG|right|thumb|photo]
Prior to World War I, approximately 200 pillars were erected into the middle of the river to mark the edge of the Iranian controlled sections of the Arvand Rud.
Treaty in 1937
In 1937, the Iraqi government under Hekmat Suleiman agreed to Iranian claims following the thalweg principle. This agreement was memorialized in the Iraqi-Iranian Frontier Treaty of 1937.
The British advisors in Iraq were able to keep the waterway bi-national under the thalweg principle that has worked in Europe (see Danube River): the dividing line was the line of steepest descent along the stream bed. All United Nations attempts to intervene as mediators were rebuffed. Under Saddam Hussein, Baathist Iraq claimed the entire waterway up to the Iranian shore as its territory. But in 1975, Iraq signed the Algiers Accord in which it recognized a series of straight lines closely approximating the thalweg (deepest channel) of the waterway, as the official border. In 1980, Hussein released a statement claiming to abrogate the treaty that he signed, and Iraq invaded Iran. Later, and as the Persian Gulf War was looming, Saddam again recognized the Algiers Accord. His prewar objective had failed. In 2006, Saddam died.
Recent conflicts
In the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the waterway was a key military target for the Coalition Forces. Since it is the only outlet to the Persian Gulf, its capture was important in delivering humanitarian aid to the rest of the country, and also to stop the flow of illegal smuggling operations. The British Royal Marines staged an amphibious assault to capture the key oil installations and shipping docks located at Umm Qasr on the al-Faw peninsula at the onset of the conflict.
Following the end of the war the UK was given responsibility, subsequently mandated by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1723, to patrol the waterway and the area of the Persian Gulf surrounding the river mouth. They are tasked to make sure that ships in the area are not being used to transport munitions into Iraq. British forces have also trained Iraqi naval units to take over the responsibility of guarding their waterways.
On two separate occasions, Iranian forces operating on the Arvandrud have captured British Royal Navy sailors who they claim have trespassed into their territory.
- In June 2004, several British servicemen were held for two days after purportedly straying into the Iranian side of the waterway. After being initially threatened with prosecution, they were released after high-level conversations between British Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, and Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Kamal Kharrazi. The initial hardline approach was put down to power struggles within the Iranian government. The British marines' weapons and boats were confiscated.
- In 2007, a seizure of fifteen more British personnel became a major diplomatic crisis between the two nations. It was resolved after thirteen days when the Iranians unexpectedly released the captives under an "amnesty".