The U.S. military was silent on the veracity of the reports. However, one source said he would not be surprised if the reports were accurate, given the building international tensions over the state of Iran's nuclear weapons program. "The circular maneuvering of the two American fighters indicated them as carrying out spying sorties and controlling the borders," said an Iranian official.

en.wikipedia.org...
Under Saddam Hussein Baathist Iraq claimed the 200-kilometer navigable channel up to the Iranian shore as its territory. But in 1975, Iraq signed the Algiers Accord in which it recognized the line running down the middle of the waterway, as the official border. However, in 1980 Iraq invaded Iran, thus breaking its part of the bargain. The main thrust of the military movement on the ground was across the Shatt al-Arab. Later, and as the Persian Gulf War was looming, Saddam again recognized the Algiers Accord in order to appease Iranians before he could undertake an invasion of Kuwait.

AZERBAIJAN, IRAN DISAGREE OVER SEA BORDER


BAKU. July 24 (Interfax) - A dispute over sea borders continues between Azerbaijan and Iran.
The Azerbaijani government officially announced on television in the
early hours of July 24 that at about 8:00 p.m. local time on Monday, a border
incident occurred in the southern part of the Caspian Sea between an
Azerbaijani research vessel, the Geofizik-3, and an Iranian patrol boat.
The Iranian patrol boat approached the Geofizik-3 when the latter was
engaged in geo-physical research in the area of contract oil fields Araz,
Alov and Share in the Azerbaijani sector of the sea. The Iranian craft
demanded that the Geofizik-3 leave the zone and stay at least eight
kilometers north of it.

Iran Expects Solution to Maritime Border Dispute with Kuwait
A senior Iranian official expressed hope here Monday that a satisfactory solution would be reached between Iran and Kuwait over the demarcation of their maritime border in northern Gulf.

Speaking to reporters before concluding his five-day visit to Kuwait, Iran's Vice President Mohammad Ali Sadooqi said the issue was being studied by special technical committees of the two countries.

Iran's Claim Over Caspian Sea Resources Threaten Energy Security
by Dr. Ariel Cohen

The need for Washington to focus its attention on energy security and diversification became clear as the war on terrorism began. The U.S. should strongly oppose Iran's threatening military actions to claim a larger portion of the energy-rich Caspian Sea. The Caspian basin, a land-locked body of salt water bordered by Iran, Azerbaijan, Russia, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan,....
Last year, Iran--a known sponsor of terrorism--began an aggressive campaign to claim a greater portion of the Caspian Sea and its resources. Its leaders have asserted that Iran has territorial and treaty rights to as much as 20 percent of the Caspian Sea surface area and seabed, significantly more than its long-recognized sector comprising about 12 to 14 percent.3 (See Map 1.) Tehran's use of air and naval forces to threaten a U.S.-British company exploring a field in Azerbaijan's sector jeopardizes, in addition to energy production and energy security, Western investments and the economic development of the post-Soviet states in that region.

AZERBAIJAN, IRAN DISAGREE OVER SEA BORDER


BAKU. July 24 (Interfax) - A dispute over sea borders continues between Azerbaijan and Iran.
The Azerbaijani government officially announced on television in the
early hours of July 24 that at about 8:00 p.m. local time on Monday, a border
incident occurred in the southern part of the Caspian Sea between an
Azerbaijani research vessel, the Geofizik-3, and an Iranian patrol boat.
The Iranian patrol boat approached the Geofizik-3 when the latter was
engaged in geo-physical research in the area of contract oil fields Araz,
Alov and Share in the Azerbaijani sector of the sea. The Iranian craft
demanded that the Geofizik-3 leave the zone and stay at least eight
kilometers north of it.

Iran Expects Solution to Maritime Border Dispute with Kuwait
A senior Iranian official expressed hope here Monday that a satisfactory solution would be reached between Iran and Kuwait over the demarcation of their maritime border in northern Gulf.

Speaking to reporters before concluding his five-day visit to Kuwait, Iran's Vice President Mohammad Ali Sadooqi said the issue was being studied by special technical committees of the two countries.

Iran's Claim Over Caspian Sea Resources Threaten Energy Security
by Dr. Ariel Cohen

The need for Washington to focus its attention on energy security and diversification became clear as the war on terrorism began. The U.S. should strongly oppose Iran's threatening military actions to claim a larger portion of the energy-rich Caspian Sea. The Caspian basin, a land-locked body of salt water bordered by Iran, Azerbaijan, Russia, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan,....
Last year, Iran--a known sponsor of terrorism--began an aggressive campaign to claim a greater portion of the Caspian Sea and its resources. Its leaders have asserted that Iran has territorial and treaty rights to as much as 20 percent of the Caspian Sea surface area and seabed, significantly more than its long-recognized sector comprising about 12 to 14 percent.3 (See Map 1.) Tehran's use of air and naval forces to threaten a U.S.-British company exploring a field in Azerbaijan's sector jeopardizes, in addition to energy production and energy security, Western investments and the economic development of the post-Soviet states in that region.