Iran: April 5, 2000

Archives

Iran will free another 2,000 Iraqi POWs held from the 1980-88 war. Iraq says Iran still holds 13,000 prisoners while Iran says Iraq holds 2,800 Iranians. Thus far, the Iranians have released 55,438 Iraqis and had 39,417 Iranians released. Some Iraqi prisoners have been held for 19 years. Meanwhile, Iran seized an Iraqi tanker on suspicion of smuggling oil. The Iranians have long looked the other way as Iraq sneaked oil past the UN embargo. But the recent attacks by Iraqi backed rebels have changed their thinking.