What Iraq Has to Gain, and Lose, by Resurrecting a Border Deal With Iran

After a history punctuated by periods of hostility and bloody conflict, relations between Iran and Iraq seem to be on the mend -- as evidenced by the countries’ recent decision to reaffirm the historic 1975 Algiers Agreement in March. For Iraq, this means giving up land and maritime waters that it has controlled for decades -- the most important of which being the Shatt al-Arab waterway. But despite Iraqis’ concerns that they got the “short end of the stick,” Baghdad actually stands to benefit more from returning to the agreement than it stands to lose -- though not without the risk of ruffling the feathers of Iran’s enemies....