Iraqi Experts Say Iran Bears Responsibility for Drought in Hawizeh Marshes

Marshes in Iraq. (AFP)
Marshes in Iraq. (AFP)
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Iraqi Experts Say Iran Bears Responsibility for Drought in Hawizeh Marshes

Marshes in Iraq. (AFP)
Marshes in Iraq. (AFP)

It seems that geographic realities linking Iraq to Iran have caused inescapable problems that are compounding their turbulent political relations.

Issues between Baghdad and Tehran go beyond problems of borders and oil field demarcation, extending to water supplies. Iraq accuses Iran of cutting river water flowing from its territory and thus affecting Iraqi marshes and causing drought.

In contrast, Iranian authorities accuse Iraq of ignoring what is happening in the Hawizeh Marshes, which have been suffering from severe drought and fires.

The Hawizeh Marshes straddle the Iraq and Iran border. The marshes are fed by two branches of the Tigris River in Iraq and Karkheh River in Iran.

In response to Iranian accusations, Iraqi experts said that Iran is responsible for the drought that hit the marshes after it blocked the flow of its rivers. The drought later contributed to the break out of fires during blistering summers.

The marshes is a joint water plateau between the two countries with an estimated area of 1,350 km in Iraq and 1,250 km in Iraq, Hawizeh Marshes expert Jassem Al-Assadi told Asharq Al-Awsat.

“Iranians objected to including Hawizeh Marshes in the 2016 World Heritage List,” Assadi added.

Iran wanted to include the part which lies within its territory, but it was refused because it was carrying out actions that harm the marshes’ environment.

Assadi went on to list Iran’s actions, which include cutting off all the water inflow into marshes by constructing three dams along the Karakh River.

More so, he stressed that there is no valid justification for current Iranian complaints, and that existing documents condemn Iranian actions, not Iraqis.

A senior Iranian official had threatened to take legal action against Iraq if evidence is found to prove that the fires that swept across the Hawizeh Marshes were deliberate.

According to the Ramsar Convention, signed in the Iranian city of Ramsar in 1975, no country was allowed to build any dam that prevents water from reaching the wetland.



China' Xi to Visit Russia May 7-10, Kremlin Says

FILE - Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin attend a group photo ceremony prior to Outreach/BRICS Plus format session at the BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia, Oct. 24, 2024. (Maxim Shipenkov, Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin attend a group photo ceremony prior to Outreach/BRICS Plus format session at the BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia, Oct. 24, 2024. (Maxim Shipenkov, Pool Photo via AP, File)
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China' Xi to Visit Russia May 7-10, Kremlin Says

FILE - Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin attend a group photo ceremony prior to Outreach/BRICS Plus format session at the BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia, Oct. 24, 2024. (Maxim Shipenkov, Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin attend a group photo ceremony prior to Outreach/BRICS Plus format session at the BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia, Oct. 24, 2024. (Maxim Shipenkov, Pool Photo via AP, File)

Chinese President Xi Jinping will make an official visit to Russia from May 7-10, where he will participate in celebrations of the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany, the Kremlin said on Sunday.
In a statement on Telegram, the Kremlin said that Xi will discuss with Russian President Vladimir Putin the development of the two countries' strategic partnership, as well as signing a number of documents.
"During the talks, the main issues of further development of relations of comprehensive partnership and strategic interaction, as well as current issues on the international and regional agenda will be discussed," the Kremlin said.
The Soviet Union lost 27 million people in World War Two but pushed Nazi forces back to Berlin, where Hitler committed suicide and the red Soviet Victory Banner was raised over the Reichstag in 1945.
Several other national leaders are expected at the celebrations, including the presidents of Brazil and Serbia, and the prime minister of Slovakia, said Reuters.
Putin has proposed a three day ceasefire with Ukraine around the May 9 celebration, one of the most important in the Russian calendar.
Responding to Moscow's offer of the three-day ceasefire, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he was ready as long as the ceasefire would be 30 days in length, something Putin had already ruled out in the near term, saying he wants a long-term settlement not a brief pause.
Zelenskiy said Ukraine, given the continued war with Russia, could not guarantee the safety of any foreign dignitaries who came to Moscow for the traditional May 9 victory parade.