Editing Shatt al-Arab (section)

====Gulf War and Iraq War====
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During the [[2003 invasion of Iraq]], the waterway was a key military target for the [[Multi-National Force – Iraq|coalition forces]]. Since it is the only outlet to the Persian Gulf, its capture was important in delivering humanitarian aid to the rest of the country,<ref name="Abadan" /> and stopping the flow of operations trying to break the naval blockade against Iraq.{{citation needed|date=June 2020}} The British [[Royal Marines]] staged an amphibious assault to capture the key oil installations and shipping docks located at [[Umm Qasr]] on the [[al-Faw peninsula]] at the onset of the conflict.

Following the end of the war, the UK was given responsibility, subsequently mandated by [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 1723]], to patrol the waterway and the area of the [[Persian Gulf]] surrounding the river mouth. They were tasked until 2007 to make sure that ships in the area were not being used to transport munitions into Iraq. British forces also trained Iraqi naval units to take over the responsibility of guarding their waterways after the [[Coalition Forces]] left Iraq in December 2011.

On two separate occasions, Iranian forces operating on the Shatt al-Arab captured British [[Royal Navy]] sailors who they claim trespassed into their territory:
* In 2004, several British servicemen were held for [[2004 Iranian seizure of Royal Navy personnel|two days]] after purportedly straying into the Iranian side of the waterway. After being initially threatened with prosecution, they were released after high-level conversations between [[Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs|British Foreign Secretary]] [[Jack Straw]] and Iranian Foreign Minister [[Kamal Kharrazi]]. The initial hardline approach came down to power struggles within the Iranian government. The British marines' weapons and boats were confiscated.
* In 2007, a [[2007 Iranian seizure of Royal Navy personnel|seizure of fifteen more British personnel]] became a major diplomatic crisis between the two nations. It was resolved after thirteen days when the Iranians unexpectedly released the captives under an "amnesty".