On the occasion of Army and Ground Forces Day:
An island that was named after 1st Lt. Noorullah Kathiri, an Iranian surveyor engineer
After the end of World War II in September 1945 (September 1324) and the departure of the Soviet Red Army from Iran, until ten years later, there were more or less clashes between the border guards of the two countries on the borders of Iran and the Soviet Union until finally the two governments involved in In 1322, they decided to end these conflicts by forming a joint commission and redefining the international borders of the two countries.
In this regard, on the 6th of Mehr 1334, a high-ranking delegation from the Soviet Union arrived in Jolfa city to determine the borders with Iran and divide the Aras River. In the investigations carried out by the joint delegation, it was determined that the Aras River runs from west to east. In some areas, there are two branches, and as a result, there are small islands in this route, which are about 800 uninhabited islands, which are called “Sham” in the local language, and it is decided that any branch of the river that has a greater depth is considered the border zero point. and the island and the branch of the river reach the opposite country.
In the continuation of the work and 5 kilometers from the city of Jolfa, the work of the joint committee regarding the determination of the border on island number 130 is drawn into a dispute. The Soviet experts believed that the deep part of the Aras River is close to the Iranian soil and according to the agreement, the border is here and the island 130 fell inside the Soviet territory and belongs to them, and Iranian experts, who were mainly Iranian military, believed that the deep part of the river is towards the Soviet territory, and that the island 130 belongs to Iran, and the issue of this dispute even extends to a verbal dispute with The unfolding of the defeats of the Iranians in the war with the Russians and the conclusion of the Turkmancha treaty makes the blood of Iranian soldiers boil.
Lieutenant General Amanullah Jahanbani, head of the Iranian delegation, writes in his book “Borders of Iran and the Soviet Union”:
“In the midst of these conflicts, 1st Lieutenant Noorullah Kathiri, a Tabriz officer, a cartographer of Tabriz Lashgar, who could not bear the words of the Soviet officers and even though he knew that the water was deep on the Iranian side, rode a horse and bravely entered the deep and raging waters to raise the Iranian flag on Island 130. Aras hits, but after a few moments, the horse and rider disappear under the roaring waves in the fight against the deep and strong current of Aras water.
Amid the astonishment of the people present at this action, a strong soldier named “Samad Mohammad Oglu” threw himself into the waters of Aras to save his friend and fellow soldier, and he released Lieutenant Kathir whose foot was stuck in the stirrup of the horse and both of them swam They reach Island 130 and raise the Iranian flag that Lieutenant Kathiri had carried under his uniform on this island.
The Russian delegation, which was impressed by this courageous act and self-sacrifice of the two, agreed that the ownership of the island should go to Iran, the Iranian government and army changed the name of the island 130 to the name of Lieutenant Kathiri, and for years the name of this Iranian officer was in between The people of the region are famous for their patriotism, but unfortunately, with the passage of time, this story and this name are slowly being forgotten, so that even the local youth of the region do not know the reason for naming this island, and most of the people of Iran are not aware of this story and sacrifice. An officer with Iranian honor rushes into the waters and is ready to sacrifice his life in order to keep a part of the homeland in the cold.
Source: The book “Borders of Iran and the Soviet Union” written by Timsar Lieutenant General Amanullah Jahanbani (1336)
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This post is written by MehrdadRafiei