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After Abdol Karim Qasim's coup d'etat in July 1958, disputes between Iran and Iraq intensified. From the earliest days of the coup, the Iraqi press published articles against Iran and Radio Baghdad broadcast anti-Iran programs. Iraqi officials began to mistreat Iranians residing in Iraq and to harass Iranian nationals in border regions. The government of Iran showed tolerance and resilience and seized every opportunity to ameliorate the situation. In the latter part of October 1958, Iranian leaders expressed hope that the government of Iraq would participate in the session of the special commission charged with settling boundary problems and questions relating to the Shatt al-Arab waterway by November 6, 1958, so that problems relating to demarcation of frontiers and the arrangements for the administration of the river could be totally settled. The Iraqi government not only showed reluctance to fulfill agreements existing between the two countries but also created new difficulties for Iran in Shatt al-Arab. The rich pro vince of Khuzestan became the target of Iraq's expansionist ambitions. Abdol Karim Qasim declared on December 18, 1959, "We do not wish to refer to the history of Arab tribes residing in Ahwaz and Mohamareh (Khorramshahr). The Ottoman government of the time handed over Mohamareh, which was part of Iraqi territory, to Iran."

The Iraqi government's dissatisfaction about Khuzestan was not limited to words and rhetorical statements. Iraq started to support secessionist movements in Khuzestan Province and raised the question of Khuzestan in the council of the Arab League, but it was not successful. With the overthrow of Abdol Karim Qasim in 1963 there was a period of relative calm between the two countries for five years. They reached understandings in an OPEC conference on the possibility of equitable and joint exploitation of oil resources and on border problems. When the Ba'ath party came to power in Iraq in 1968, the new government started repeating the old claims for full sovereignty over Shatt al-Arab, thus causing talks between Iran and Iraq to fail.

The expansionist intentions of the new Iraqi government were not confined to its claim over Shatt al-Arab. The deputy prime minister of Iraq declared in 1969, "Iraq has not had serious dispute with Iran over Shatt al-Arab, since this is part of Iraq's territory. The dispute is in connection with Arabistan (Khuzestan) which is part of Iraq's soil and was annexed to Iran during foreign rule." Al-Jomhuriye, a newspaper published in Baghdad, declared that a new radio station would begin broadcasting exclusively for "Arabistan" from Basra. At the same time, the Basra television station exhibited a new map of Iraq in which the province of Khuzestan was depicted as "Arabistan" and as part of Iraqi territory. On November 28, 1973, Channel 7 in Baghdad broadcast a program called "Things from History." In this program, the commonly known names of Iranian cities were changed, and even Khorramshahr was shown to be a part of the Iraqi province of Nasserieh. Furthermore, the Arab and Baluchi Iranians were encouraged to rebel against the central government.

The withdrawal of British forces from the Persian Gulf in 1971 helped further the ambitions of the government of Iraq and intensified the old fears and distrust between Iran and Iraq. After Iran restored its sovereignty over the three islands of Greater and Lesser Tonbs and Abu Musa, the Iraqi government severed diplomatic relations with Iran and declared that these islands belong to the Arabs. Iraq complained to the Arab League and the United Nations and proposed in meetings of the Arab League that all Arab states should break relations with Iran. This proposal was rejected. Iraq's complaint to the United Nations was also to no avail, so, in retaliation, Iraq expelled more than 70,000 Iranians.

As a result of the adverse relations between Iran and Iraq, the crisis shifted to the northern borders. During 1972-74 a number of border skirmishes took place. The most important of these, known as "Bloody Sunday," occurred on February 10, 1974. In this incident, heavy equipment was used and a large number of military forces from both sides were killed and wounded. The Iraqi government took the case to the UN Security Council, claiming that Iran had occupied five square kilometers of Iraqi territory and had concentrated large numbers of armed forces along the border and calling for an urgent meeting of the Security Council. The government of Iran asked the secretary-general to send an envoy to prove the invalidity of the Iraqi claims.

After hearing the comments and views of the representatives of both sides, on February 28, 1974, the Security Council did decide to send a special envoy to the region. The council also called on the two parties to refrain from any provocations until the results of the investigation were published. This cease-fire went into effect on March 7, 1974. Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim delegated Vickman Munez, the representative of Mexico, to travel to Iraq and Iran and to visit border areas.

After hearing the report of the secretary-general's special envoy, the Security Council adopted Resolution 348, according to which the two parties agreed to (1) observe strictly the March 7, 1974, cease-fire; (2) withdraw promptly and simultaneously the forces of the two countries from the border areas; (3) refrain from any hostile action against one another; and (4) resume talks between the two countries without preconditions and with a view to finding a solution for all problems between them... 

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