Coll 17/15(1) 'Perso-Iraq Relations: Persia-Iraq frontier; Persia's claim in the Shatt-el-Arab' [‎173v] (357/961)

4. Territorial Waters at the Mouth of the Shatt-el-Arab
The “Tableau Descriptif ” prepared by the Frontier Commission of iqu
states that:— ‘ “
“ La frontiere vient du large pour toucher la rive gauche du Chatt-el I
Arab a un point situe a une distance de 2 milles en aval du fort appartenant
actuellement au Cheikh Khazal (i.e., the Sheikh of Mohammerah) La
position de ce fort a ete observee de la terrasse du bureau telegraphique
Imperial ottoman de Fao, ou son azimut avec le nord fut constate etre de
87 degres.”
which description, with the line drawn by the commission on the “ Identic Map”
suggests was at that time the mouth of the river was very much nearer to Fan
than at present.
2. The point so described is, however, some miles from what is now the
mouth of the river and the question arises as to the proper line of the frontier
below it.
3. This question was carefully examined in 1929, and the results summarised
m the following paragraphs of a memorandum prepared in the Eastern
Department on the 1st March, 1930
“ 2 . In accordance with the Treaty of Erzerum of 1847 and the Turco-
Jreisian Fi on tier Protocol signed at Constantinople in 1913, the frontier on
the bhatt-el-Arab follows the left (Persian) bank. The latter document
provides that la frontiere suit le cours du Chatt-el-Arab jusqu’a la mer en
aissant sous la squverainete ottomane le fleuve et toutes les iles qui s’y trouvent’
\\ it i certain conditions and exceptions. It also set up a delimitation commission,
wnose decisions were to be definitive and not to be susceptible to revision. This
commission delimited the frontier during 1914 starting from the south, and the
S ° U i ^ 0in ^ frontier line is some miles upstream from what
nugiit to-day have been considered to be the actual mouth of the river.
• -^^ le is that below the end of the delimitation commission’s frontier
me, an on each side of the river, there are two large mudbanks, which are at
all events partly covered by the sea at high-tide, but on the other hand are at all
ev ^ n ? J low-tide. These banks, the Abadan bank on the Persian side,
ail a .oullah bank on the Iraq side, are continually changing their position
am eir size, and at the request of the Foreign Office a special survey was under-
v 1 1929 ’ on the results of which the Admiralty chart in
7 / showing the coast lines at low-water spring tides, is based. One
imp 0 rtant result of this survey was to establish that large areas both of the
u a an the Abadan banks have in fact a definite low-water line and must
now, whatever the position was in 1914, be regarded as territory,
i A i ' i e , ra< I government, who naturally control navigation on the Shatt-
fwK ’ mi 36 ?? ohh ^ t0 dredge a channel called the Pooka Channel through
. outside the mouth of the river in order to enable ocean-going vessels to
? e l 1 ?? 1 \ c ? m jd le ^ ea - dhis channel passes very close indeed to a detached
m ° i tlle Aba .d an bank (Persia) marked X on The plan* A part of the
A lLr 1 r 01 1S \ t ^ la - n ^ m des away from the outermost point of the
P ? n There is therefore a very serious danger that the Persian
1 J? 6 ? mi ght be able to make out a very good case for objecting to the
thp pR n i r ° ° ^2°^ a Channel by Iraq on the grounds ( 1 ) that part of
prLt!^?? el ^ as /^side Iraq territorial waters, and perhaps ( 2 ) part of the
<£ a ^if S 11381 - e ^? l 8 l a ^ erri t°rial waters (see paragraph 6 below)
• i A remains to be considered how the frontier line may reasonably be
considered to run down stream from the point where the 19i4 Delimitation
rT S i ended ' Between th at point and the end of the Abadan and
these Lnksw “T t 0 . 1 ” 3 httle , doubt as the position. Now tW
iRooo RotaRc Ro r k 1 ; uoudl as to tne position, iww
sfmnlv W T p b6 ? f ? UIld P L e territor y. *0 matter can be said to be governea
simply by the Constantinople Protocol of 1913; it can be maintained that the
This has now disappeared (1934).
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