Officials claim Iran seized Iraqi oil well

BAGHDAD, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- Two Iraqi government officials said Friday Iranian security forces took control of an oil well in Iraq's Maysan province.

The senior officials, whose identities were not released, told CNN the southern Iraqi oil well near the Iranian border was taken Thursday night, but it remains unclear if the security forces were still in control of the Iraqi site.

The Iranian government denied the Thursday incident occurred and the Iranian Embassy in Baghdad had yet to receive word of the incident from Iraqi authorities.

The officials said the incident was being reviewed by Iraq's Foreign and Oil ministries before any action would be taken.

CNN said while Iran and Iraq engaged in an eight-year war that ended in 1988, relations between the two Middle Eastern nations have improved in recent years.

Those diplomatic improvements in the areas of culture, politics, religion and the economy came after Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was overthrown in 2003.