{{Short description|International border}} {{Infobox border | name = Iraq-Turkey border<br>{{small|{{nativename|ar|الحدود العراقية التركية}}}}<br>{{smaller|{{nativename|tr|Irak–Türkiye sınırı|italic=no}}<br>{{nativename|ku|سنووری عێراق و تورکیا}}}} | image = Iraq_Turkey_border_map.png | image_size = | alt = | caption = Map of the Iraq–Turkey border | territory1 = {{flagicon|IRQ}} Iraq | territory2 = {{flagicon|TUR}} Turkey | length = 331 km (206 mi)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.buzlu.org/turkiyenin-komsulari-ve-cografi-sinirlari/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160214174107/http://www.buzlu.org/turkiyenin-komsulari-ve-cografi-sinirlari/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=14 February 2016 |title=Türkiyenin Komşuları ve Coğrafi Sınırları |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=14 February 2016 }}</ref> | enclaves = | established = 1926 (Treaty of Ankara (1926)) | establishedreason = To establish the border between Iraq and Turkey | current = Active | currentreason = Border between Iraq and Turkey | disestablished = | disestablishedreason = | treaties = Treaty of Ankara (1926) | notes = The border region is mountainous and predominantly populated by Kurds on both sides. Tensions related to Kurdish insurgency persist. }}
The '''Iraq–Turkey border''' is 331 km (206 mi) in length and runs from the tripoint with Syria in the west to the tripoint with Iran in the east.<ref>{{citation |url= https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/iraq/|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210110010834/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/iraq|url-status= dead|archive-date= January 10, 2021|title=CIA World Factbook – Iraq|access-date= 4 April 2020}}</ref> Should Turkey, which is a candidate for EU membership, accede to the EU, Iraq will be a border neighbor with the European Union.
==Description== The border starts in the west at the tripoint with Syria at the confluence of Tigris river and Little Khabur river. It then follows the latter river eastwards, and then the Hezil Suyu river to the north-east. The border then turns eastwards overland via series of irregular lines over mountain crests and small streams, eventually turning southwards to connect to the Hajji Bak (Hacibey Suyu) river. It then follows this river north-eastwards to the Iranian tripoint. The border region is extremely mountainous and is populated almost exclusively by Kurds on both sides.
==History== At the start of the 20th century the Ottoman Empire controlled what is now Turkey and Iraq.<ref name="IBS027">{{citation|url=https://fall.fsulawrc.com/collection/LimitsinSeas/IBS027.pdf|title=International Boundary Study No. 27 – Iraq-Turkey Boundary|date=30 January 1964|access-date=4 April 2020|archive-date=1 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191001160046/https://fall.fsulawrc.com/collection/LimitsinSeas/IBS027.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> During the First World War an Arab Revolt, supported by Britain, succeeded in removing the Ottomans from most of the Middle East. As a result of the secret 1916 Anglo-French Sykes–Picot Agreement Britain gained control of the Ottoman Iraqi Vilayets of Mosul, Baghdad and Basra, which it organised into the mandate of Iraq in 1920.
thumb|right|Topographic map of the border region By the 1920 Treaty of Sèvres Anatolian Turkey was to be partitioned, with the areas north of the Mosul Vilayet to be included within an autonomous or independent Kurdish state.<ref name="IBS027"/><ref>{{Cite book |last=Helmreich |first=Paul C. |title=From Paris to Sèvres: The Partition of the Ottoman Empire at the Peace Conference of 1919–1920 |publisher=Ohio State University Press |location=Columbus, Ohio |year=1974 |isbn=9780814201701 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/fromparistosevre0000helm/page/320 }}</ref> Turkish nationalists were outraged at the treaty, contributing to the outbreak the Turkish War of Independence; the Turkish success in this conflict rendered Sèvres obsolete.<ref name="IBS027"/> By the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne Turkey's independence was recognised and a far more generous territorial settlement was agreed upon, albeit at the cost of Turkey formally renouncing any claim to Arab lands.<ref name="Treaty">{{Citation|date=24 July 1923|title=Treaty of Peace with Turkey signed at Lausanne|place=Lausanne, Switzerland|access-date=28 November 2012|url=https://wwi.lib.byu.edu/index.php/Treaty_of_Lausanne}}</ref> As a provisional measure, the former northern border the Mosul Vilayet was to serve as a frontier between British-controlled Iraq and Turkey, with a more precise delimitation to be agreed upon later.<ref name="IBS027"/>
British and Turkish officials met in 1924 but were unable to determine a mutually satisfactory border, and the matter was referred to the League of Nations.<ref name="IBS027"/> In October 1925 the League proposed a border (the ‘Brussels line’) that was essentially the same as that of the northern limits of the old Mosul Vilayet.<ref name="IBS027"/><ref name="cox">The Geography of the Mosul Boundary: Discussion "The Geographical Journal" 1926</ref> After further deliberations, the League formally recommend in July 1925 that the Brussels line be utilised, a view endorsed by the Permanent Court of International Justice at the Hague in November 1925.<ref name="IBS027"/> On 5 June 1926 Britain and Turkey signed the Treaty of Ankara, by which both states recognised the Brussels line (with some minor modifications) as the frontier.<ref name="IBS027"/><ref>{{Cite journal|date=2018|title=Treaty Between the United Kingdom and Iraq and Turkey Regarding the Settlement of the Frontier Between Turkey and Iraq, Together with Notes Exchanged|journal=The American Journal of International Law|volume= 21| issue = 4|pages=136–143|jstor=2213009|doi=10.2307/2213009|s2cid=246007497 }}</ref> The border was then demarcated on the ground in 1927.<ref name="IBS027"/>
Generally cordial, relations between Iraq and Turkey became strained following the Gulf War (1990–91); this resulted in an autonomous Kurdish area being established in northern Iraq which provided sanctuary for Kurdish rebels operating in southeast Turkey.<ref>{{cite journal |first=L. |last=Fawcett |title=Down but not out? The Kurds in International Politics |journal=Review of International Studies |volume=27 |year=2001 |issue=1 |pages=109–118 [p. 117] |doi=10.1017/S0260210500011098|s2cid=146771496 }}</ref> Since then Turkey has conducted numerous military incursions into the autonomous Kurdistan Region across the border in a bid to counter what it sees as Kurdish terrorism.<ref>{{cite news|title=Turkey hits PKK targets in Iraq, Syria|url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-hits-pkk-targets-in-iraq-syria-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=112396&NewsCatID=352|access-date=25 April 2017|publisher=Hurriet Daily News|date=25 April 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.jamestown.org/single/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=4807#.VmMzajahfcs|title=Unwelcome Guests: The Turkish Military Bases in Northern Iraq|work=The Jamestown Foundation|access-date=24 April 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/security/01/10/iraq-ejects-turkish-armed-forces.html#|title=Iraq to Expel Foreign Troops, End Turkish Military Presence - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East|work=Al-Monitor|date=3 October 2012 |access-date=24 April 2016}}</ref>
==Crossings== thumb|right|The border crossing at Ibrahim Khalil
There are three crossings along the entire border, two for vehicular traffic and one for vehicular and rail traffic. The busiest of three, Habur (Ibrahim Khalil), is among the busiest border checkpoints in the world.
{| class="wikitable" |- !width=100| {{flagicon|TUR}} Turkish checkpoint !!width=100| Province !!width=100| {{flagicon|IRQ}} Iraqi checkpoint !!width=100| Province !!width=150| Opened !!width=200| Route in Turkey !!width=200 | Route in Iraq !!width=50| Status |- || Habur || Şırnak || Zakho || Duhok || 18 July 1969 || x15px || x15px || <span style="color:green">Open</span> |- |- || Gülyazı || Şırnak || ? || ? || 24 January 2012 || ? || ? || <span style="color:red">Closed</span> |- || Şemdinli-Derecik || Hakkâri || ? || ? || 14 February 2011 || ? || ? || <span style="color:red">Closed</span> |- || Çukurca-Üzümlü || Hakkâri || Sar Zeri || Erbil || 7 May 2015 || ? || ? || <span style="color:green">Open</span> |}
==See also== * Iraq–Turkey relations
==References== {{reflist}} {{Borders of Iraq}} {{Borders of Turkey}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iraq-Turkey border}} Category:Iraq–Turkey border Category:Borders of Iraq Category:Borders of Turkey Category:International borders Category:Iraq–Turkey relations