Seventeen Iranian families, who moved to Iraq during the 1980-1988 war between the two countries, returned home on Monday, under a tripartite, UN-supervised agreement, the official news agency IRNA reported.
The group of about 125 people crossed the border at Shalamsheh, 16 kilometers from the city of Khorramshahr.
They are all from the border provinces of Khuzestan, Ilam and Kermanshah and will be allowed to return to their hometowns after completion of health quarantines, vaccination and customs requirements. The governor of Khoramshahr, close to Iran's border with Iraq, said fears of an eventual United States strike on Iraq "have accelerated the repatriations of the Iranians".
The UNHCR representative in Tehran, Mohammad Nouri, said recently that of the 8,000 Iranian refugees in Iraq who were seeking repatriation, 2,500 had been given authorization to leave. (Albawaba.com)
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