The Treaty of Saadabad (or the Saadabad Pact) was a
non-aggression pact
A non-aggression pact or neutrality pact is a treaty between two or more states/countries that includes a promise by the signatories not to engage in military action against each other. Such treaties may be described by other names, such as a tr ...
signed by
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
,
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
,
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
and
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
on July 8, 1937, and lasted for five years. The treaty was signed in
Tehran
Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...
's
Saadabad Palace
The Sa'dabad Complex ( fa, مجموعه سعدآباد – ''Majmue ye Sa’dābād'') is a 110 hectare complex built by the Qajar and Pahlavi monarchs, located in Shemiran, Greater Tehran, Iran. Today, the official residence of the President of I ...
and was part of an initiative for greater Middle Eastern-Oriental relations spearheaded by King
Mohammed Zahir Shah
Mohammed Zahir Shah (Pashto/Dari: , 15 October 1914 – 23 July 2007) was the last king of Afghanistan, reigning from 8 November 1933 until he was deposed on 17 July 1973. Serving for 40 years, Zahir was the longest-serving ruler of Afghanistan s ...
of Afghanistan. Ratifications were exchanged in Tehran on June 25, 1938, and the treaty became effective on the same day. It was registered in ''League of Nations Treaty Series'' on July 19, 1938.
[''League of Nations Treaty Series'', vol. 190, pp. 22–27.]
In Iraq, the left-leaning
Bakr Sidqi
Bakr Sidqi al-Askari (; 1890 – 11 August 1937) was an Iraqi general of Kurdish origin, born in 1890 in Kirkuk and assassinated on 11 August 1937, at Mosul.
Early life
Bakr Sidqi was born to Kurdish family either in ‘Askar,Edmund Ghareeb, B ...
military government of 1936–1937 was less Arab nationalist than other Iraqi governments. Sidqi was a
Kurd ug:كۇردلار
Kurds ( ku, کورد ,Kurd, italic=yes, rtl=yes) or Kurdish people are an Iranian peoples, Iranian ethnic group native to the mountainous region of Kurdistan in Western Asia, which spans southeastern Turkey, northwestern Ir ...
and his prime minister,
Hikmat Sulayman, was a
Turkmen
Turkmen, Türkmen, Turkoman, or Turkman may refer to:
Peoples Historical ethnonym
* Turkoman (ethnonym), ethnonym used for the Oghuz Turks during the Middle Ages
Ethnic groups
* Turkmen in Anatolia and the Levant (Seljuk and Ottoman-Turkish desc ...
. They were, therefore, interested in diplomacy with Iraq's eastern, non-Arab neighbours. Turkey sought friendly relations with its neighbours and was still recovering from its defeat in
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and the costly victory in the
Turkish War of Independence
The Turkish War of Independence "War of Liberation", also known figuratively as ''İstiklâl Harbi'' "Independence War" or ''Millî Mücadele'' "National Struggle" (19 May 1919 – 24 July 1923) was a series of military campaigns waged by th ...
.
In 1943, the treaty was automatically extended for a further five years because none of the signatories had renounced it.
Notes
External links
Text of the treatyD. Cameron Watt: "The Saadabad Pact of 8 July 1937"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Treaty Of Saadabad
Treaties concluded in 1937
1937 in Asia
Treaties of Turkey
Treaties of Pahlavi Iran
Treaties of the Kingdom of Iraq
Treaties of the Kingdom of Afghanistan
1937 in Turkey
1937 in Iran
1937 in Iraq
1937 in Afghanistan
Non-aggression pacts
Interwar-period treaties