Iran reaffirms validity of Iran-Iraq Algiers Accord

January 12, 2008 - 0:0

TEHRAN (IRNA) -- Foreign Ministry on Wednesday reaffirmed commitment to good neighborly relations with Iraq, national sovereignty, and territorial integrity and non-interference in line with Algiers Accord signed by the two parties in Algiers in 1975.

The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that according to the statement issued in Algiers on March 6, 1975, the two nations signed the Algiers Accord in Baghdad on June 13, 1975 which dealt with border issues and good neighborly relations and three protocols were annexed to it.
“Three other agreements in addition to the minutes of the meeting over comprehensive settlement of the issues and other documents were signed in Baghdad on December 26, 1975,” it said.
After ratification of the accord by parliaments of Iran and Iraq, the documents were exchanged in Tehran on June 22, 1976 and went into force, it said, adding that all the documents have been registered in the secretariat of the United Nations as per Article 102 of the UN Charter.
The Islamic Republic of Iran believes that context of the Algiers Accord is permanent and unchangeable and even basic changes in the circumstances cannot affect it, and both states should respect the accord on border and good neighborly relations envisaged in the Articles 4 and 5 of the Algiers Accord.
Of course, the international law and practices of the two Iranian and Iraqi governments support validity of the accord, the statement said.
In addition, the two countries have agreed to conduct demarcation on the basis of the protocol on border demarcation on June 13, 1975 after the damages caused by Iraqi-imposed war on Iran (1980-1988).
A commission envisaged in Article 5 of the protocol was following up the demarcation over the past year. It convened several times to determine major passages on northern frontiers areas.
On Arvand Rud (river border), dredging operation will be carried out and the waterway will open for shipping in line with respective agreement signed on December 26, 1975.
The statement said that the executive works for dredging up Arvand Rud (river border) and maintenance of the shipping channels had been administered by a Common Bureau for Coordination (CBC) which was active until the outset of the imposed war. The two states, however, have insisted on the need for renewal of CBC activities after the eight year long war.
The Islamic Republic of Iran asserted that the agreements underlie the relations with its neighbor state.