The river line
Sir: May I be permitted to correct a factual error in the otherwise excellent article by Mr Patrick Desmond, entitled 'The Sunnier Side' (10 July 1982)?
In tracing the border dispute between the two countries, he states: 'Until 1975, the Iraq-Iran frontier was deemed to run along the centre of the Shatt, but in that year the Shah obliged Iraq to accept its movement to the Iraqi bank.'
In fact, it was exactly the opposite case. Until 1975, Iraq had insisted that its border was along the low tide on the Iranian bank. This obviously created an impossible situa- tion in that if an Iranian so much as put his foot into the river he was deemed to have technically stepped into Iraqi territory. In 1975, Iran finally persuaded Iraq by peaceful negotiation to accept the interna- tional norm of the median line. It is noteworthy that it was the same Saddam Hussein who signed the agreement who five years later abrogated it with naked aggres- sion.
Hassan Shaida
The Old Lodge, Firbank Lane, Woking, Surrey
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