The Kuwait–Saudi Arabia border is 221 km (137 mi) in length and runs from the

tripoint A tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or subnational entities meet. There are 175 international tripoints as of 2020. Nearly half are situated in rivers, l ...

with

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 ...

in the west to the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Persis, Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a Mediterranean sea (oceanography), me ...

coast in the east.

Description

The border starts in the west the tripoint with Iraq on the Wadi Al-Batin; a straight line of 90 km (55 mi), angled slightly to the south-east, then proceeds eastwards. The border then turns southwards via a series of irregular lines, before turning sharply to the east, with a straight line of 70 km (43 mi) running to the Gulf coast.

History

Map to show the Limits of Kuwait and Adjacent Country (1913)

Historically there was no clearly defined boundary in this part of the Arabian peninsula; at the start of the 20th century the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

controlled what is now Iraq and

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

controlled

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

as a

protectorate A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a State (polity), state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over m ...

, with the interior consisting of loosely organised Arab groupings, occasionally forming emirates, most prominent of which was the

Emirate of Nejd and Hasa The Emirate of Nejd and Hasa was the second iteration of the Third Saudi State from 1913 to 1921. It was a monarchy led by the House of Saud.Madawi Al-Rasheed. (2002). ''A History of Saudi Arabia''. Cambridge, England, UK: Cambridge University P ...

ruled by the

al-Saud The House of Saud ( ar, آل سُعُود, ʾĀl Suʿūd ) is the ruling royal family of Saudi Arabia. It is composed of the descendants of Muhammad bin Saud, founder of the Emirate of Diriyah, known as the First Saudi state (1727–1818), and ...

family. Madawi Al-Rasheed. ''A History of Saudi Arabia''. Cambridge, England, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2002. Pp. 40. Britain and the Ottoman Empire theoretically divided their realms of influence via the so-called '

Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when obs ...

' and ' Violet lines' in 1913–14, by which the Ottomans recognised British claims on Kuwait, divided from Ottoman

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...

along the Wadi Al-Batin (the so-called 'green line', ''see map right''). During the

First World War 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 ...

Arab Revolt The Arab Revolt ( ar, الثورة العربية, ) or the Great Arab Revolt ( ar, الثورة العربية الكبرى, ) was a military uprising of Arab forces against the Ottoman Empire in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I. On t ...

, supported by Britain, succeeded in removing the Ottomans from most of the Middle East; in the period following this Ibn Saud managed to expand his domains considerably, eventually proclaiming the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932. Ibn Saud claimed Kuwait as part of his new state, attempting to annex it in 1919, resulting in the

Kuwait–Najd War The Kuwait–Najd War erupted in the aftermath of World War I. The war occurred because Ibn Saud of Najd wanted to annex Kuwait. The sharpened conflict between Sheikhdom of Kuwait, Kuwait and Emirate of Nejd and Hasa, Najd led to the death of hun ...

; when that failed he instituted a blockade of Kuwait. In December 1922

Percy Cox Major-General Sir Percy Zachariah Cox (20 November 1864 – 20 February 1937) was a British Indian Army officer and Colonial Office administrator in the Middle East. He was one of the major figures in the creation of the current Middle East. ...

, British High Commissioner in the British Mandate of Iraq, met with Ibn Saud and signed the Uqair Protocol, which finalised Saudi Arabia's border with both Kuwait and

. The Treaty also created a large Saudi–Kuwaiti neutral zone in the south-east, where both parties were to share equal rights pending further agreement. When oil was later discovered in this zone it was agreed to partition it in 1965, this division being ratified in 1969–70, at which point the Kuwait-Saudi border was finalised at its current position. Iraq invaded and annexed Kuwait in 1990, breaching the Kuwait–Saudi Arabia border in 1991 at the

Battle of Khafji The Battle of Khafji was the first major ground engagement of the Persian Gulf War. It took place in and around the Saudi Arabian city of Khafji, from 29 January to 1 February 1991 and marked the culmination of the Coalition's air campaign ...

during the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

Border Crossings

The two main border crossings are at Salmi (

Jahra Governorate Al-Jahra Governorate ( ar, محافظة الجهراء Muḥāfaẓat al-Ǧahrāʾ) is one of the six Governorates of Kuwait. It is the largest Governorate in Kuwait. It includes the town of Al-Jahra, most of the northern and western parts of ...

) and Nuwaiseeb (

Ahmadi Governorate The Ahmadi Governorate (arabic: محافظة الأحمدي) is the Second most populated Governorate of all the 6 Governorates in Kuwait. It is the Home of KOC, KNPC and much more Oil and Petrol companies. Ahmadi consists of the following dis ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuwait-Saudi Arabia border Borders of Kuwait Borders of Saudi Arabia International borders

Description

History

Border Crossings

See also

References