On Friday, the Iraqi government denied that it had ceded land to the Iranian side to start the railway link between Shalamcheh and Basra, which is for the transport of passengers only, according to the official news agency.conscious“.
And the Iraqi Ministry of Transport issued a clarification regarding the railway link project (Shalamcheh-Basra) in a statement confirming that “Iraq did not give up any Iraqi lands in favor of the Iranian side in order to extend the railway line or in order to establish a navigational bridge on the Shatt al-Arab.”
This clarification came from the ministry in conjunction with the circulation of a copy of an alleged document that talks about the existence of an undisclosed agreement between the Minister of Transport, Razzaq Mohibis Al-Saadawi, and his Iranian counterpart, “through which Iran is permitted to own Iraqi lands across the Shatt Al-Arab Bridge.”
The Ministry of Transport said in its statement, “The misinformation about the project is mere media turmoil and talk that has no value, and behind it are parties trying to obstruct the completion of the ministry’s strategic projects.”
The statement stated that “the project is one of the ministry’s projects, which is being implemented by the Iraqi General Railway Company, as it was included in the federal budget for the year 2023, and a special budget has been allocated for it.”
She added, “What was stated in the memorandum of understanding between the Iraqi and Iranian ministries of transport, within (the third point), is clear and unambiguous, and it stipulated that the Iranian side bear the financial costs of the conflicts, in order to complete the project.”
And she indicated that “the agreement stipulated that Iraq would be responsible for the construction of the railway line, sites and stations, while the Iranian side would undertake the construction of the navigational bridge on the Shatt al-Arab and the removal of mines along a length of 16 kilometers within the project, as the fourth paragraph clearly indicated that the Iranian side would secure the financial expenses incurred.” On acquisitions and others, and no phrase was mentioned in the memorandum of understanding referring to the concession or granting of Iraqi lands to Iran.
The ministry indicated that it “prioritizes the interests of Iraq and the Iraqis, and it is a sectoral authority specialized in transportation, and it does not have the authority to cede Iraqi land in favor of another country,” stressing that “all the lands of the project, starting from the Iranian borders, are Iraqi lands, in addition to that the Ministry of Transport It recovered 500 meters of Iraqi territory, which was on the Iranian side.”
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2023-08-04 10:31:32
