Historically there was no clearly defined boundary in this part of the Middle East; Kuwait
de jure fell under
Basra Vilayet administration from 1875 until the end of
World War I. At the start of the 20th century the
Ottoman Empire controlled what is now Iraq and Britain
de facto controlled Kuwait as a
protectorate. Britain and the Ottoman Empire theoretically divided their realms of influence via the so-called "
Blue" and "
Violet lines" in the
Anglo-Ottoman Convention of 1913, by which the Ottomans recognised British claims on Kuwait, divided from Ottoman Mesopotamia along the Wadi al-Batin (the so-called 'green line',
see map right). The convention was never ratified therefore remained not binding. Finally, the Ottomans and British emerged as enemies within months of the convention, as the outbreak of
World War I diminished any hope left for ratification. 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 Vilayets of
Mosul,
Baghdad and
Basra. After a
revolt broke out in Iraq that demanded independence, the three Vilayets became
mandatory Iraq in 1921, following a previous policy of centralization by
Mamluks and
Ottomans. In 1932, the year that Iraq gained
independence, Britain confirmed that the border between Iraq and Kuwait would run along the Wadi al-Batin, as well as confirming that
Bubiyan and
Warbah islands were Kuwaiti territory, though the precise positioning of the northern straight line segments near Safwan remained imprecise. Following an
Iraqi coup in 1963, a treaty of friendship was signed the same year by which Iraq recognised the 1932 border. Over the ensuing decade Iraq often raised the issue of sea access and the traditional claim to Kuwait, most notably in 1973 with the
1973 Samita border skirmish. In 1990 Iraq
invaded and
annexed Kuwait. The invasion instigated the
Gulf War, which restored Kuwait's sovereignty. In July 1992 the matter of
border demarcation was referred to the
United Nations, which accurately mapped the boundary and then demarcated it on the ground, following the 1932 line with some minor adjustments. The
United Nations Iraq–Kuwait Observation Mission monitored the border during the period 1991–2003. Relations between the two states have improved since the
fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003.
Barrier The
Iraq–Kuwait barrier ( ''Hudud al-'Irāq-al-Kuwayt'') is a
border fence extending into
Iraq, into
Kuwait, and across the full length of their mutual border from
Saudi Arabia to the
Persian Gulf. Constructed by authorisation of the
United Nations Security Council resolution 689, its stated purpose was to stop a re-invasion of Kuwait by Iraq. The
border barrier, made of electrified fencing and
concertina wire, is braced by a and trench, complete with a dirt berm and guarded by hundreds of soldiers, several patrol boats, and helicopters. Construction of the barrier began in 1991. In January 2004, Kuwait decided to install a new iron barrier along the border. The barrier was estimated to have cost $28 million and the entire length of the border; asphalted roads were also constructed to facilitate border security movement.
Maritime border The 1992 UN demarcation of the Iraq–Kuwait border applied only to the land border, not the
maritime border, which was deliberately left out. The dispute surrounds the region of the
Khor Abdullah waterway. Although , the dispute was not settled. In 2014 Kuwait provided maps to the United Nations, which Iraq said were not the agreed maps. In 2019 Iraq filed a formal compaint with the UN after Kuwait built a port facility on the
Fasht Al A'aij shoal, and in 2023 an Iraqi court voided the 2012 agreement because the agreement did not receive proper approval from the
Iraqi parliament. In February 2026 Iraq submitted a proposal which put the
Fasht al-Qaid and Fasht al-Aij shoals in Iraqi
territorial waters. Kuwait rejected Iraq's proposal, with Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Saudi Arabia taking Kuwait's side of the dispute. ==Settlements near the border==