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Iran Offers Plan to Resolve POW Issue with Iraq
Iran has proposed a plan to resolve the thorny issue of prisoners of war (POWs) that is still blocking the normalization of ties with Iraq 12 years after their bloody war, an official said on Thursday, December 14.
The plan was welcomed by the Iraqi side during a recent meeting between officials of both countries, said Brigadier General Abdollah Najafi, head of Iran's commission for POWs.
However, Najafi did not give details of the plan or disclose the date and place of the meeting, the Islamic Republic News Agency reported.
He said the Iraqi side has pledged to study the plan and inform Iran's Foreign Ministry of its views in writing.
The Iraqi delegation also expressed hope that the plan would be accepted by high-ranking Iraqi officials, he added.
Iran and Iraq fought a devastating war from 1980 to 1988, claiming some 1 million lives on both sides.
Since the end of the war, the two countries have released more than 90,000 POWs through the help of the International Committee of the Red Cross. But both sides still accuse the other of holding thousands of others.
Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi paid a landmark visit to Baghdad in mid-October and held talks with Iraqi officials, during which the two sides agreed to reactivate all joint committees set up more than a year ago to resolve the lingering problems of the war.
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