Kuwait Lodges Formal Protest Over Iraq’s Maritime Claims Filed at UN

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — Kuwait’s Foreign Ministry announced that it had formally summoned Iraq’s chargé d’affaires in Kuwait to deliver an official protest memorandum over maritime coordinates recently deposited by Baghdad at the United Nations, which Kuwait says infringe upon its sovereign maritime territories.

In a statement issued late on Saturday, Kuwait said the Republic of Iraq had submitted a list of geographical coordinates and a map to the UN outlining what it described as Iraqi maritime domains. According to Kuwait, the submission contains claims that encroach upon Kuwaiti sovereignty over established maritime areas and fixed water elevations, including Fasht al-Qaid and Fasht al-Aij.

Kuwait stressed that these areas “have never been the subject of any dispute regarding the full sovereignty of the State of Kuwait,” describing Iraq’s move as a violation of settled understandings between the two neighboring countries.

Representing Kuwait, Acting Deputy Foreign Minister Ambassador Aziz Rahim Al-Deihani summoned Dr. Zaid Abbas Shanshul, chargé d’affaires of the Iraqi Embassy in Kuwait, to formally convey Kuwait’s rejection of the claims.

The protest memorandum objected to what it characterized as an infringement on Kuwait’s maritime sovereignty and affiliated water elevations.

The Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry called on Iraq to take into account the historical trajectory of bilateral relations and to engage responsibly in accordance with international law, particularly the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

It also urged adherence to existing bilateral agreements and memoranda of understanding signed between the two states.

Tensions between Iraq and Kuwait over territorial and maritime boundaries date back decades, culminating in the 1990 invasion of Kuwait by Iraqi forces under former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. The invasion prompted the 1991 Gulf War and subsequent UN-led efforts to demarcate land and maritime boundaries between the two countries.

Following the war, the United Nations established the United Nations Iraq-Kuwait Boundary Demarcation Commission, which formally delineated the international boundary in 1993. While Kuwait accepted the demarcation, successive Iraqi governments have periodically expressed reservations over aspects of the maritime boundary, particularly in relation to access to the Gulf and navigation channels near the strategic Khor Abdullah waterway.

The Khor Abdullah agreement, signed in 2012 and ratified by both parliaments, aimed to regulate maritime navigation and cooperation in the shared waterway. However, the agreement has remained controversial within Iraq, where critics argue that it limits the country’s sovereign access to maritime routes.

In 2023, Iraq’s Federal Supreme Court invalidated the parliamentary ratification of the agreement, reigniting political debate and diplomatic sensitivities between Baghdad and Kuwait.

Despite these tensions, bilateral relations have generally improved since 2003, with both governments emphasizing economic cooperation, border security coordination, and efforts to resolve outstanding issues through dialogue and international legal mechanisms.

Saturday’s development signals a potential resurgence of friction over maritime sovereignty, at a time when both governments have repeatedly affirmed their commitment to maintaining stable and cooperative relations.

Whether the dispute escalates or is resolved through diplomatic channels may depend on further clarifications submitted to the United Nations and renewed bilateral engagement in the coming weeks.