Shafaq News- Baghdad

Lawmakers from caretaker Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani’s parliamentary bloc on Tuesday denied that the United Nations has the authority to revoke Iraq’s newly deposited maritime maps, describing the step as a sovereign milestone that makes the country “practically a Gulf state.”

At a press conference in parliament, Bahaa al-Araji, a leader in the Reconstruction and Development bloc (Al-Ima’ar wal Tanmiya) —the largest electoral bloc— said the filing formally clarified Iraq’s maritime boundaries and marked the completion of its sovereign framework at sea.

“With the deposit of these maps, Iraq has secured a geopolitical foothold in the Gulf,” al-Araji said, adding that the move would encourage oil and gas exploration and grant Iraqi fishermen greater freedom to navigate Gulf waters.

The submission to the United Nations includes updated geographic coordinates defining Iraq’s internal waters, territorial sea, contiguous zone, and exclusive economic zone (EEZ), outlining the maritime areas over which Iraq exercises sovereign rights under international law.

MP Alia Nassif, speaking at the same conference, described the deposit as a legal consolidation of Iraq’s maritime rights rather than a routine technical procedure. She noted that no previous Iraqi government —during either the monarchy or the republican era— had formally lodged such maps with the UN.

Nassif acknowledged Kuwait’s right to object but denied that the United Nations can annul the filing. “This deposit is a sovereign right,” she said, arguing that Iraq is now “the master of the situation in drawing the maps” and has “moved from a position of defense to one of ownership,” with the other side required to substantiate its maritime claims.

Iraq, she added, aims to compete with nearby regional ports, including Qatari ports, and maintained that once the Grand al-Faw Port is completed, the country will possess facilities capable of rivaling ports across the region.

Baghdad and Kuwait continue technical and legal discussions to finalize maritime delimitation, particularly in the Khor Abdullah waterway —a narrow but strategically significant channel that has long strained relations between the two neighbors. Iraqi officials indicated that the newly deposited coordinates are expected to serve as a reference point in those talks.

Read more: Khor Abdullah: A waterway entangled in sovereignty disputes and legacy of invasion

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has called on Iraq to withdraw the maritime coordinates and map lodged with the UN, arguing that the submission includes “claims” affecting Kuwait’s sovereignty over certain maritime areas and water elevations, including Fasht Al-Qaid and Fasht Al-Aij, which Kuwait considers “undisputed territory.”