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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Nadine Carroll who wrote (226613)	4/10/2007 7:03:23 AM
From: Noel de Leon	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

As we all know the 15 English sailors were captured in the Shatt el-Arab delta. This delta's border has been disputed by Iran and Iraq for many years and were one of the primary causes of the 8 year long conflict between Iran and Iraq with a loss of a million lives in the 1980s. Some history goes a long way towards clarifying the English and the Iranian positions. 1) The Revolutionary Guard captured the English vessel. 2) Iran does not accept the border as defined by England in Shatt el-Arab. 3) According to an agreement(1937) between The Ottoman Empire and Iran Shatt el-Arab lies in Iraqi territory and borders up to Iran except for 5 kilometers from Iran where the border follows the deepest water line. 4) Iran has, since 1937, claimed that the border follows the deep water line for the whole of Shatt el-Arab. 5) In 1969 Iran rejected the 1937 agreement which resulted in many weaponed conflicts and diplomatic breakdowns. 6) In 1975 the Shah forced Saddam into a new agreement which satisfied Iran(Iran was, militarily, superior to Iraq). 7) In 1980 Iraq attacked Iran(with USA's and Europe's support). England claims that the vessel was in Iraqi waters and they are probably right according to the English sea charts. Iran claims that the vessel was in Iranian waters according to the agreement of 1975(see 6) above). The action can be seen as a signal to the Iraqi government that behind the Iraqi/Iranian Shia connection is hidden a historic conflict of strong national and economic interests. More important the action shows that Ahmadinejad is not a unpredictable, irrational clown but rather an expert in using his opponents weaknesses to Iran's advantage. Ahmadinejad came out of the conflict strengthened. He humiliated the British fleet, he stands as a defender of Iran's interests, he was generous towards the British government, and he praised the prophet by releasing the 15 3 days after Mohammed's birthday. I've translated a part of an article from a Danish newspaper. The facts(3-6) can be googled.