Iraq, Iran exchange war dead in new repatriation at Shalamcheh Border

Shafaq News – Baghdad

Iraq and Iran on Sunday exchanged the remains of soldiers killed during the 1980–1988 war between the two countries, in a ceremony held at the Shalamcheh border crossing in Basra province.

Shafaq News correspondent reported that the handover ceremony began in the morning at the border post east of Basra, where the remains of 70 Iraqi and 48 Iranian soldiers were exchanged between representatives of both sides.

Most of the remains were of unidentified individuals, according to officials and images from the site.

Similar handovers have taken place in recent years through the Iraqi–Iranian Joint Committee, formed by both governments to locate and recover war victims’ remains. The process is carried out under the supervision of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

The exchanges are part of ongoing humanitarian efforts under a 2008 Geneva agreement signed between Iraq and Iran with ICRC oversight. Official figures on the total number of recovered and repatriated remains have not been disclosed.

The Iran–Iraq War, also known as the First Gulf War, lasted eight years and caused an estimated one million deaths and vast economic losses on both sides.