Relations between Iraq and other Arab states

This file concerns Iraq’s foreign relations with the Arab world, particularly its improving relations with Jordan. It contains correspondence and memoranda concerning:

• The visits of Jordanian Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Sharaf, Crown Prince Hassan Bin Talal, and King Hussein Bin Talal to Iraq
• Possible Jordanian mediation between Iraq and the US
• The imprisonment of the Jordanian citizen George Qarabashi in Iraq
• Iraqi financial and development aid to Jordan
• The gifting of Iranian tanks captured by Iraq to Jordan
• Jordan’s uncertain support for Iraq in the Iran-Iraq War

The file also concerns Iraq’s relations with the wider Arab world, containing correspondence and memoranda concerning:

• Iraq’s opposition to foreign intervention in the Gulf
• Relations with Somalia, and the unsuccessful visit of Somali President Mohammad Siad Barre
• The restoration of diplomatic relations between Iraq and Sudan
• The visit of the President of Algeria Chadli Benjedid
• The presence of Iraqi Baathists in the Yemen Arab Republic (North Yemen); and rumours of Iraqi aid to North Yemen following the visit of President Ali Abdulla Saleh
• The open criticism of the regime of Syrian president Hafez Al Assad by members of the Syrian Communist Party at the Arab Popular Conference in Baghdad
• Iraqi financial aid to Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO)
• The visit of Crown Prince Sheikh Sa’ad Al Abdulla Al Sabah of Kuwait to Baghdad to discuss the ongoing border dispute and possible cooperation
• The resentment and apprehension of the Gulf States towards perceived Iraqi dominance in the Gulf
• The Iraqi newspaper Al Thawra’s editorial concerning the role of European members of NATO in US military action in the Gulf
• Closure of the Iraqi offices of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP)
• Relations with Morocco
• The meeting of the Foreign Secretary Lord Carrington [Peter Alexander Rupert Carington] and Omani Foreign Minister Qais Abdul Munim Al Zawawi concerning Iraq’s relations with its neighbours, and the uncertain relationship between Oman and Iraq
• Iraq’s aspirations for leadership of the Arab world and the spread of its Ba'athist ideology
• A violent incident on the border between Iraq and Turkey
• Iraq’s opposition to Soviet Union intervention in the Arab world
• The visit of President Saddam Hussein Al Tikriti to Saudi Arabia; and the joint communiqué opposing the de jure Israeli annexation of East Jerusalem
• Prime Minister of Bahrain Sheikh Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa’s visit to Iraq
• The Deputy Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr Al Qasimi’s views of the Iran-Iraq War
• Iraqi appeals to the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to raise oil production to offset disruption caused by the Iran-Iraq War