Live fire at sea and 'revenge' on drones: the clash between the Gulf states - not related to Iran

A long-running maritime dispute between Iraq and Kuwait over the strategic waterway 'Khor Abdullah' has reignited after an Iraqi fisherman was killed by Kuwaiti fire. The conflict, which began in 1932, includes mutual claims of maritime sovereignty, legal challenges, and military escalation with drones bearing the message 'revenge'. Protests in Iraq demanded the extradition of the 'killer'.

The maritime dispute between Iraq and Kuwait over the 'Khor Abdullah' waterway has returned to the forefront after an Iraqi fisherman was killed by Kuwaiti fire last July. The decades-long conflict began in 1932 when Baghdad marked its border with Kuwait, which was officially recognized only in 1963. In 1993, the UN Boundary Commission published the border, including 'Point 162' at the entrance to the waterway. In 2012, the 'Khor Abdullah Agreement' was signed, but in 2023 Iraq's Supreme Court ruled that the law ratifying it was unconstitutional. In February, Kuwait's Foreign Ministry summoned the Iraqi embassy's chargé d'affaires to protest a maritime map Iraq submitted to the UN. In July, fisherman Najm Abdullah was killed in an incident with the Kuwaiti coast guard, sparking public outrage and protests in Basra. Meanwhile, amid the war with Iran, reports emerged of Iranian drones targeting Kuwait, some bearing the message 'revenge for the Iraqi fisherman'.