Exchange returns 570 Iranian soldiers’ remains

The United States submitted its Rejoinder in the continuing litigation.

An order allowed Iran a further written pleading relating to the U.S. counterclaim.

Iran filed an additional response to the counterclaim after the Court authorized another pleading.

The ICRC completed a handover that included 507 Iraqis held since the 1980–88 war and 188 held since the 1991 Gulf War. The groups had different origins.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri visited Iran for talks on unresolved bilateral issues left by the war. Diplomatic contact did not itself settle every humanitarian or reparations claim.

A Tehran funeral honored 570 Iranians whose remains had been returned from Iraq. RFE/RL’s Persian service reported public debate over how the men had died.

Public hearings opened on Iran’s claim and the U.S. counterclaim, bringing wartime maritime disputes before the Court.

The hearings ended and the Court moved to deliberation on the claim and counterclaim.

ICRC archive documentation identifies a repatriation operation on 17–18 March. Some Iraqi prisoners remained for a separate return in May, so the March operation was not comprehensive.

The ICRC documented a final operation returning Iraqi prisoners from Iran. The unresolved captivity legacy had outlasted the war by nearly fifteen years.