In 1975, a secret handshake in Algiers temporarily settled a century of border disputes
A sudden diplomatic breakthrough in 1975 saw the Shah of Iran and Saddam Hussein end decades of hostility with a handshake, redrawing their shared river border to prevent a looming regional war.
In March 1975, the leaders of Iran and Iraq stunned the world by announcing a resolution to their violent border disputes during an OPEC summit. The Algiers Accord centered on the Shatt al-Arab waterway, a vital strategic passage to the Persian Gulf that both nations claimed.
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