Saudi-Iraqi neutral zone
Encyclopedia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
and Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
within which the border between the two countries had not been settled. The Treaty of Muhammarah (Khorramshahr
Khorramshahr
Khorramshahr is a city in and the capital of Khorramshahr County, Khuzestan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 123,866, in 26,385 families.Khorramshahr is a port city located approximately north of Abadan...
) of 5 May 1922, forestalled the imminent conflict between the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, which held the mandate for Iraq, and the Kingdom of Nejd, which later became Saudi Arabia (when combined with the Kingdom of Hejaz
Kingdom of Hejaz
The Kingdom of Hejaz was a state in the Hejaz region, ruled by the Hashemite family. The kingdom was annexed by Nejd and merged into the Kingdom of Nejd and Hejaz in the mid 1920s, which would eventually be known as Saudi Arabia in 1932.-Kings of Hejaz:...
). The treaty specifically avoided defining boundaries. Following further negotiations, the Protocol of Uqair
Uqair Protocol of 1922
The Uqair Protocol or Uqair Convention was an agreement at Uqair on 2 December 1922 which defined the boundaries between Iraq and Nejd and between Kuwait and Nejd. It was brokered by Percy Cox, the British High Commissioner to Iraq, in response to Bedouin raiders from Nejd under ibn Saud...
(Uqayr), 2 December 1922, defined most of the borders between them and created the neutral zone.
No military or permanent buildings were to be built in or near the neutral zone and the nomads of both countries were to have unimpeded access to its pastures and wells.
Administrative division of the zone was achieved in 1975, and a border treaty concluded in 1981. For unknown reasons the treaty was not filed with the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
and nobody outside Iraq and Saudi Arabia was notified of the change or shown maps with details of the new boundary. As the Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
approached in early 1991, Iraq canceled all international agreements with Saudi Arabia since 1968. Saudi Arabia responded by registering all previous boundary agreements negotiated with Iraq at the United Nations in June 1991. Thus ended the legal existence of the Saudi–Iraqi neutral zone.
The Saudi–Iraqi neutral zone formerly had the ISO 3166-1
ISO 3166-1
ISO 3166-1 is part of the ISO 3166 standard published by the International Organization for Standardization , and defines codes for the names of countries, dependent territories, and special areas of geographical interest. The official name of the standard is Codes for the representation of names...
codes NT and NTZ. These codes were discontinued in 1993. The FIPS 10-4
FIPS 10-4
The FIPS 10-4 standard, Countries, Dependencies, Areas of Special Sovereignty, and Their Principal Administrative Divisions, lists two-letter country codes that are used by the U.S. Government for geographical data processing in many publications, such as the CIA World Factbook. The standard is...
code for the Saudi–Iraqi neutral zone was IY; that code was deleted in 1992.
The United States Office of the Geographer regarded the area as only having an approximate boundary, rather than a precise one, with an estimated line being drawn approximately through the centre of the territory on official maps.
See also
- Geography of IraqGeography of IraqThe geography of Iraq is diverse and falls into four main regions: the desert , Upper Mesopotamia , the northern highlands of Iraqi Kurdistan, and Lower Mesopotamia, the alluvial plain extending from around Tikrit to the Persian Gulf.The mountains in the northeast are an extension of the alpine...
- Geography of Saudi ArabiaGeography of Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia is a country situated in Southwest Asia, the largest country of Arabia, bordering the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea, north of Yemen. Its extensive coastlines on the Persian Gulf and Red Sea provide great leverage on shipping through the Persian Gulf and Suez Canal. The kingdom occupies...
- Unification of Saudi ArabiaUnification of Saudi ArabiaThe unification of Saudi Arabia was the process by which the various tribes, sheikhdoms, and emirates of most of the Arabian Peninsula were consolidated under the control of the House of Saud, or Al Saud, between 1902 and 1932, when the modern-day Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was proclaimed...
- Saudi Arabia – United Arab Emirates border disputeSaudi Arabia – United Arab Emirates border disputeSaudi Arabia has had a number of border disputes with its neighbouring states in the Arabian peninsula.-General Aspects:The border dispute with the United Arab Emirates was apparently resolved with the Treaty of Jeddah which was signed at Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on 21 August...
- Saudi–Kuwaiti neutral zone