Iraq’s highest court will on Wednesday hear a request from the country's leaders to reinstate a water pact with Kuwait that some current and former officials claim would “sell out” Iraqi sovereignty.
The Khor Abdullah deal, under which Iraq and Kuwait shared a waterway into the Arabian Gulf, has been on hold since the Iraqi Federal Supreme Court struck down the maritime agreement in September 2023.
Kuwait, supported by Gulf Co-operation Council states, has expressed concern about the court decision and asked Baghdad to return to the agreement. This month, Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid and Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani asked the court in separate requests to reverse its decision.
However, their requests resulted in a public backlash in Iraq, heating up long-standing border disputes and raising sovereignty questions.
“Iraqi citizens are taking a stand today against any attempts to sell out Iraq’s wealth and sovereign rights, and to affect its maritime boundaries,” MP Soud Al Saiedi told a gathering at Baghdad’s Tahrir Square.
“It is about the future of our nation, our children and our people’s livelihood,” added Mr Al Saiedi, who led the campaign to revoke the law in 2023. “Iraqis are determined to protect their homeland and defend their rights.”
On the other hand, the government pointed out that the agreement does not primarily concern border demarcation, but instead regulates navigation in Khor Abdullah.
Path to the Gulf
Khor Abdullah is a narrow waterway that leads from the Arabian Gulf, curving around Kuwait's Bubiyan and Warba islands on one side and Iraq's Al Faw Peninsula on the other. It is Iraq's only entrance to the Gulf, through which most of its oil exports flow, alongside its imports.
After Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 833 three years later which determined the land border between Iraq and Kuwait. However, the delineation of the maritime border was left to the two countries.
The deal draws a line in the middle of Khor Abdullah and stipulates that “each party shall exercise its sovereignty over that part of the waterway which lies within its territorial water”. It provides that the agreement “shall remain in effect indefinitely” but can be mutually terminated with six months' notice.
The court previously annulled a law ratifying the 2012 deal, in a case filed by several Iraqi MPs. It held that the law was unconstitutional because it should have been passed with a two-thirds majority in parliament, not a simple majority.
Shortly after the ruling, the GCC and US issued a joint statement in which they called on the Iraqi government to “ensure that the agreement remains in force”.
Critics consider the agreement unfair, saying Kuwait has no right to control any part of Khor Abdullah, historically known as an Iraqi canal. They argue that the agreement is meant to delineate a maritime border rather than regulate navigation.
“It’s a humiliating and disastrous agreement for Iraq,” said Amir Abdul-Jabar, who served as transport minister from 2008 to 2010. He said he had filed a lawsuit against Mr Al Sudani for “blocking the court’s ruling”, by refusing to have copies of it deposited at the UN and the International Maritime Organisation.
There was no statement from the government or the presidency on the two lawsuits. Requests for comment from The National to the government went unanswered.
“We are accustomed to our officials making concessions to neighbouring countries in order to gain their support,” said Mohammed Hafidh Ali, an Iraqi engineer. “I see it as a betrayal,” he added.
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FINAL RECKONING
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg
Rating: 4/5
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Tottenham 0-1 Ajax, Tuesday
Second leg
Ajax v Tottenham, Wednesday, May 8, 11pm
Game is on BeIN Sports
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE cricketers abroad
Sid Jhurani is not the first cricketer from the UAE to go to the UK to try his luck.
Rameez Shahzad Played alongside Ben Stokes and Liam Plunkett in Durham while he was studying there. He also played club cricket as an overseas professional, but his time in the UK stunted his UAE career. The batsman went a decade without playing for the national team.
Yodhin Punja The seam bowler was named in the UAE’s extended World Cup squad in 2015 despite being just 15 at the time. He made his senior UAE debut aged 16, and subsequently took up a scholarship at Claremont High School in the south of England.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Match info
Liverpool 3
Hoedt (10' og), Matip (21'), Salah (45 3')
Southampton 0
UAE finals day
Friday, April 13
Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
3pm, UAE Conference: Dubai Tigers v Sharjah Wanderers
6.30pm, UAE Premiership: Dubai Exiles v Abu Dhabi Harlequins
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Brief scores:
Everton 2
Walcott 21', Sigurdsson 51'
Tottenham 6
Son 27', 61', Alli 35', Kane 42', 74', Eriksen 48'
Man of the Match: Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur)
'HIJRAH%3A%20IN%20THE%20FOOTSTEPS%20OF%20THE%20PROPHET'
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Who has been sanctioned?
Daniella Weiss and Nachala
Described as 'the grandmother of the settler movement', she has encouraged the expansion of settlements for decades. The 79 year old leads radical settler movement Nachala, whose aim is for Israel to annex Gaza and the occupied West Bank, where it helps settlers built outposts.
Harel Libi & Libi Construction and Infrastructure
Libi has been involved in threatening and perpetuating acts of aggression and violence against Palestinians. His firm has provided logistical and financial support for the establishment of illegal outposts.
Zohar Sabah
Runs a settler outpost named Zohar’s Farm and has previously faced charges of violence against Palestinians. He was indicted by Israel’s State Attorney’s Office in September for allegedly participating in a violent attack against Palestinians and activists in the West Bank village of Muarrajat.
Coco’s Farm and Neria’s Farm
These are illegal outposts in the West Bank, which are at the vanguard of the settler movement. According to the UK, they are associated with people who have been involved in enabling, inciting, promoting or providing support for activities that amount to “serious abuse”.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
RESULT
Arsenal 1 Chelsea 2
Arsenal: Aubameyang (13')
Chelsea: Jorginho (83'), Abraham (87')
Venom
Director: Ruben Fleischer
Cast: Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed
Rating: 1.5/5
RESULTS
5pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
Winner: Yas Xmnsor, Sean Kirrane (jockey), Khalifa Al Neyadi (trainer)
5.30pm: Falaj Hazza – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Arim W’Rsan, Dane O’Neill, Jaci Wickham
6pm: Al Basrah – Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,800m
Winner: Kalifano De Ghazal, Abdul Aziz Al Balushi, Helal Al Alawi
6.30pm: Oud Al Touba – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,800m
Winner: Pharitz Oubai, Sean Kirrane, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
7pm: Sieh bin Amaar – Conditions (PA) Dh80,000 (D) 1,800m
Winner: Oxord, Richard Mullen, Abdalla Al Hammadi
7.30pm: Jebel Hafeet – Conditions (PA) Dh85,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: AF Ramz, Sean Kirrane, Khalifa Al Neyadi
8pm: Al Saad – Handicap (TB) Dh70,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Sea Skimmer, Gabriele Malune, Kareem Ramadan
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
More on Quran memorisation:
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ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
Film: In Syria
Dir: Philippe Van Leeuw
Starring: Hiam Abbass, Diamand Bo Abboud, Mohsen Abbas and Juliette Navis
Verdict: Four stars
Look%20Both%20Ways
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GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Brief scores:
Barcelona 3
Pique 38', Messi 51 (pen), Suarez 82'
Rayo Vallecano 1
De Tomas Gomez 24'
Pari
Produced by: Clean Slate Films (Anushka Sharma, Karnesh Sharma) & KriArj Entertainment
Director: Prosit Roy
Starring: Anushka Sharma, Parambrata Chattopadhyay, Ritabhari Chakraborty, Rajat Kapoor, Mansi Multani
Three stars
The specs
Engine: 2.5-litre, turbocharged 5-cylinder
Transmission: seven-speed auto
Power: 400hp
Torque: 500Nm
Price: Dh300,000 (estimate)
On sale: 2022
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
