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By Sumayyah Meehan January 14, 2010 Things are heating up between Iraq and Iran as both nations publicly declared their infatuation for one another in a press conference to announce plans to redefine their borders. Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki stated that redefining the border was Iran’s way of declaring its, “friendship and love and peace” for Iraq. But hold that thought. Up for grabs is a 910-mile stretch of oil rich land that both countries lay claim to, although it remains to be seen which country will be victorious in wholeheartedly possessing it. Iran already tried to sneak in and claim the land mid-December as a build up of Iranian troops stuck the Iranian flag in the ground despite the fact that the oil well in question was emblazoned with the Iraqi flag. Who knew love could so tumultuous? At the press conference, Iraqi President Nuri al-Maliki was still a bit bitter about the taking over of his oil well as he said he was, “astonished by the unjustified step.” He stressed upon the need for a harmonious union for both Iraq and Iran for the sake of security, protection from terrorists and a whopping $5 billion in economic trade per annum. It’s also no secret that any further spats between the two countries could drive up international prices of crude oil, which already spiraled skyward as news of the disputed well broke. The dubious well is estimated to be situated high atop 1.55 billion barrels of oil reserves. There certainly will be no love lost between Iran and Iraq should the plans for the redefined border fall through. However, the tussle over the valuable oil well could be the catalyst for a re-ignition of hostilities between the two countries that just so happen to share the letters ‘I-r-a’ in their names followed by a single non-matching letter.  Clearly, consonant diversity rocks more than fighting over a hunk of land! Sources: Reuters, Middle East Online http://www.elanthemag.com/index.php/site/blog_detail/iraq_iran_meeting_focuses_on_friendship_loveand_oh_yeah_oil-nid53827943/