Editing Geography of Iraq (section)

==Area and boundaries==
In 1922 British officials concluded the Treaty of Mohammara with Abd al Aziz ibn Abd ar Rahman [[Al Saud]], who in 1932 formed the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The treaty provided the basic agreement for the boundary between the eventually independent nations. Also in 1922 the two parties agreed to the creation of the diamond-shaped Neutral Zone of approximately {{convert|7500|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} adjacent to the western tip of Kuwait in which neither Iraq nor Saudi Arabia would build dwellings or installations. [[Bedouin]]s from either country could utilize the limited water and seasonal grazing resources of the zone. In April 1975, an agreement signed in [[Baghdad]] fixed the borders of the countries.

Through [[Algeria]]n mediation, Iran and Iraq agreed in March 1975 to normalize their relations, and three months later they signed a treaty known as the [[1975 Algiers Agreement|Algiers Accord]]. The document defined the common border all along the [[Khawr Abd Allah]] (Shatt) River [[estuary]] as the [[thalweg]]. To compensate Iraq for the loss of what formerly had been regarded as its territory, pockets of territory along the mountain border in the central sector of its common boundary with Iran were assigned to it. Nonetheless, in September 1980 Iraq went to war with [[Iran]], citing among other complaints the fact that Iran had not turned over to it the land specified in the [[1975 Algiers Agreement|Algiers Accord]]. This problem has subsequently proved to be a stumbling block to a negotiated settlement of the ongoing conflict.

In 1988 the boundary with [[Kuwait]] was another outstanding problem. It was fixed in a 1913 treaty between the [[Ottoman Empire]] and [[United Kingdom|British]] officials acting on behalf of [[Politics of Kuwait|Kuwait's ruling family]], which in 1899 had ceded control over foreign affairs to Britain. The boundary was accepted by Iraq when it became independent in 1932, but in the 1960s and again in the mid-1970s, the Iraqi government advanced a claim to parts of Kuwait. [[Kuwait]] made several representations to the Iraqis during the war to fix the border once and for all but [[Baghdad]] repeatedly demurred, claiming that the issue is a potentially divisive one that could inflame nationalist sentiment inside Iraq. Hence in 1988 it was likely that a solution would have to wait until the war ended.

'''Area:'''<br>
''total:'' {{convert|438317|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}<br>
''land:'' {{convert|437367|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}<br>
''water:'' {{convert|950|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}

'''Land boundaries:'''<br>
''total:'' {{convert|3809|km|mi|abbr=on}}<br>
''border countries:'' [[Iran]] {{convert|1599|km|mi|abbr=on}}, [[Saudi Arabia]] {{convert|811|km|mi|abbr=on}}, [[Syria]] {{convert|599|km|mi|abbr=on}}, [[Turkey]] {{convert|367|km|mi|abbr=on}}, [[Kuwait]] {{convert|254|km|mi|abbr=on}}, [[Jordan]] {{convert|179|km|mi|abbr=on}}

'''Coastline:''' {{convert|58|km|mi|abbr=on}}

'''Maritime claims:'''<br>
''territorial sea:'' {{convert|12|nmi|1|abbr=on|lk=in}}
''continental shelf:'' not specified

'''Terrain:'''<br> mostly broad plains; reedy marshes along Iranian border in south with large flooded areas; mountains along borders with Iran and Turkey

'''Elevation extremes:'''<br>
''lowest point:'' Persian Gulf 0 m<br>
''highest point:'' [[Cheekah Dar]] {{convert|3611|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}