Iraq's Parliament seeks answers on maritime border map

Shafaq News – Baghdad

Iraq’s Parliamentary Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday announced plans to send formal inquiries to the Foreign Ministry over its handling of the country’s maritime boundary with Kuwait.

Committee member Amer al-Fayez told Shafaq News the body will request written explanations on whether the ministry failed to submit the cabinet’s approved maritime map to the United Nations for archival purposes. "If confirmed, Parliament may call for a special session to safeguard Iraq’s rights."

Al-Fayez urged the Foreign Ministry to clarify its position, stressing that protecting Iraq’s maritime rights “cannot be deferred.” He added that if quorum for a special session is not achieved, the matter may be taken up by the next parliament.

Tensions with Kuwait have risen recently over demarcation of the boundary beyond marker 162. The issue stems from UN Security Council Resolution 833, adopted in 1993 after the Gulf War, which delineated the Iraq–Kuwait land and part of the maritime border but left the section past that marker unresolved.

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