The Saudi Arabian–Iraqi neutral zone also known as the neutral territory (NT) or neutral territory zone (NTZ), was a

kite A kite is a tethered heavier than air flight, heavier-than-air craft with wing surfaces that react against the air to create Lift (force), lift and Drag (physics), drag forces. A kite consists of wings, tethers and anchors. Kites often have ...

-shaped region of on the border between

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

and

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

within which the border between the two countries had not been settled. The neutral zone came into existence following the Uqair Protocol of 1922 that defined the border between Iraq and the Sultanate of Nejd (Saudi Arabia's predecessor state). An agreement to partition the neutral zone was reached by Iraqi and Saudi representatives on 26 December 1981, and approved by the Iraqi National Assembly on 28 January 1982. The territory was divided on an unknown date between 28 January and 30 July 1982. Notice was given to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

in June 1991. Since there was no significant infrastructure or urban development in the zone, the population remained sparse and mainly ethnic Bedouin throughout the neutral zone's existence. The people living there were typically scattered in small groups, with limited interaction with the larger settled populations of Iraq or Saudi Arabia.

History

The Treaty of Muhammarah ( Khorramshahr), 5 May 1922, forestalled the imminent conflict between the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, which held the mandate for Iraq, and the Kingdom of Nejd, which later became Saudi Arabia after it unified with the Kingdom of Hejaz. It was signed by Prince Ahmed bin Abdullah on behalf of Abdulaziz Ibn Saud, King of Najd, who did not ratify the treaty. The treaty specifically avoided defining boundaries. Following further negotiations, the Protocol of Uqair (Uqayr), 2 December 1922, defined most of the borders between them and created the neutral zone. The protocol was ratified by Abdulaziz. No military or permanent buildings were to be built in or near the neutral zone, and 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

, and nobody outside Iraq and Saudi Arabia was notified of the change nor shown maps with details of the new boundary. As the

Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

approached in early 1991, Iraq cancelled 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. Most official maps no longer show the

rhombus In plane Euclidean geometry, a rhombus (: rhombi or rhombuses) is a quadrilateral whose four sides all have the same length. Another name is equilateral quadrilateral, since equilateral means that all of its sides are equal in length. The rhom ...

-shaped neutral zone, but rather draw the boundary approximately through the centre of the territory. For example, the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

’ Office of the Geographer regarded the area as having only an approximate boundary rather than a precise one. The Saudi Arabian–Iraqi neutral zone formerly had the ISO 3166-1 codes NT and NTZ. These codes were discontinued in 1993. The

FIPS 10-4 The Federal Information Processing Standard, FIPS 10-4 standard, ''Countries, Dependencies, Areas of Special Sovereignty, and Their Principal Administrative Divisions'', was a list of two-letter country codes that were used by the U.S. Government ...

code for the Saudi Arabian–Iraqi neutral zone was IY; this code was deleted in 1992.

References

Bibliography

External links

The Straight Dope on the Neutral Zone

Arabian Boundary Disputes

International Boundary Study No. 111
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saudi-Iraqi Neutral Zone 20th century in Saudi Arabia 20th century in Iraq Disputed territories in the Persian Gulf Territorial disputes of Saudi Arabia Territorial disputes of Iraq Iraq–Saudi Arabia border Iraq–Saudi Arabia relations 1922 establishments in Asia Demilitarized zones 1981 disestablishments in Asia

History

See also

References

Bibliography

External links