BAGHDAD – Iranian troops have withdrawn partially from a disputed oil area claimed by both Tehran and Baghdad, Iraqi and Iranian officials have said, possibly defusing a border feud straining the two nations’ delicate ties.
Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said yesterday that a group of Iranian troops, who had taken over an oil well in a remote region along the Iran-Iraq border last week, were no longer in control of the well.
Iraq considers the well as part of its Fakka oilfield.
“The Iranian flag has been lowered,” Mr Dabbagh said. “The Iranian troops have pulled back 50 metres, but they have not gone back to where they were before.
“The Iraqi government asked for the troops to go back to where they were.”
A border official in Iran said Iranian forces had returned to their original position after dismantling a barricade built by Iraqi soldiers near the disputed oil well.
“Iraqi forces had erected the now disassembled barricade next to the No 4 oil well in Fakka,” the official told Iran’s state Press TV on condition of anonymity.
The border flare-up kicked off a storm of emergency meetings and bilateral phone calls, with Baghdad calling for an immediate withdrawal of foreign troops while it sought to contain damage to its charged relationship with neighbouring Iran.
Global oil prices climbed on Friday following initial media reports that Iranian troops had commandeered an Iraqi oil well.
The news was all the more worrisome as Iraq prepared to sign giant contracts with leading global oil firms, a milestone in its efforts to turn around its oil sector and secure foreign cash despite ongoing violence and other obstacles to investment.
Analysts PFC Energy said the incident could have a lasting impact on dealings with foreign firms, especially those related to fields located on or near Iraq’s border with Iran. – (Reuters)