Hope of restoring a clean water lifeline to Basra province is on the rise again with plans by the Iraqi and Iranian governments to revive the Shatt al-Arab as a source of drinking water and improve its functioning as a trade route.
Representatives from Iraq and Iran met May 19 in Khorramshahr, Iran, situated on the waterway, to discuss a clean up of the river on the basis of the Algiers Agreement (1975), establishing joint control and designating the Taluk line, marking the deepest part of the river, the countries' riparian border. Iraqi former President Saddam Hussein abrogated the treaty in 1980 and cited disagreement over control of the river as one of the reasons for invading Iran that year in what evolved into a devastating eight-year war (1980-88). Prior to the agreement, Iraq claimed control over the entire river.
Formed by the confluence of the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers at al-Qurnah, in northern Basra, the Shatt al-Arab is some 120 miles long, with the southern portion forming the border between Iraq and Iran to point of discharging into the Persian Gulf. Ships ply the river transferring goods and oil to and from both countries.
Dredging the river today is more important than ever, in part to remove wreckage from ships at the bottom of the river. The ships themselves are interfering with trade across the Gulf, and their oil and chemical residue and leakage pose health and environmental hazards. In 2012, five large boats were pulled from the water, but the river has not been dredged for decades, resulting in toxic rubble piling up along the shoreline and in the river itself.