Red Cross denies reports of Iraqi prisoners released from Iran

BAGHDAD — The International Committee of the Red Cross on Wednesday denied media and social media claims that dozens of Iraqi prisoners had been released from Iran under its supervision.

“These reports are not true,” the organization said in a statement, adding that it regretted being falsely cited as a source.

“Any rumor or false news about the file of the missing negatively affects the emotions of families who have been searching for answers about the fate of their loved ones for many years, and gives false hope,” the Red Cross said.

The committee clarified that the claims refer to prisoners from the Iran-Iraq War, a file both governments officially closed years ago. The last prisoner exchange between Iran and Iraq took place in 2003 under Red Cross supervision.

The Iran-Iraq War, which began in 1980 when Iraq invaded western Iran under Saddam Hussein, was driven by territorial disputes and fears that Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution would incite Iraq’s Shia population. The conflict lasted nearly eight years, ending in August 1988 with both sides accepting U.N. Security Council Resolution 598. An estimated 1 to 2 million people were killed or wounded.