Iranian troops pull back from oil well

Iranian troops have partially withdrawn from a disputed oil field claimed by both Tehran and Baghdad. The move could defuse a border conflict straining ties of the two oil-producing neighbors in the Middle East.

Sheep graze outside the Halfaya oil field near the southern city  of Amara. Iranian troops who occupied a disputed oil well on the Iraq border left overnight, a senior official of Iraq's Maysan  province told AFP Sunday (AFP/File/Essam al-Sudani)

An Iraqi government spokesman said Iranian troops stationed nearby the oil field had pulled back 50 meters. A border official in Iran said Iranian forces had returned to their original position after dismantling a barricade built by Iraqi soldiers. Iraq considers the well part of its al-Fakka oil field.