ABSTRACT
Ever since the abortive Portsmouth Treaty of 1948 the time had never been propitious to conclude a new Anglo-Iraqi treaty because of Britain’s engagement with the Anglo-Egyptian dispute. Also, Iraqi governments had never been sufficiently strong or durable to make further attempts, except in July 1953, when the Iraqi Foreign Minister, Taufiq Suwaidi, informed the British government that the Iraqi government was wondering whether it would be feasible to terminate the 1930 treaty by resorting to a regional defence agreement under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter. However, later Iraqi governments had been too beset by parliamentary difficulties to consider the question of treaty revision. The return of Nuri Said to power in August 1954 had marked a decisive step. The termination of the Anglo-Iraqi Treaty of 1930 and cooperation between Iraq and foreign states in conformity with the provisions of Article 51 of the United Nations Charter were one of the main planks of the policy that he had outlined in his letter of 3 August to the King. He considered that it was time for a change, and that the agreements between Turkey and Pakistan, and between Egypt and Britain, had paved the way. However, he had assured the British government that he had no intention to abrogate the Anglo-Iraqi Treaty by unilateral action, and had indicated that he had in mind an arrangement for revision of the treaty similar to the abortive Portsmouth Treaty of 1948.1
Nuri’s ideas with regard to alternative defence arrangements were compatible with the proposals that he had mentioned to Selwyn Lloyd, the minister of state, in London in July 1954, which envisaged a regional defence pact that would provide a framework for future defence cooperation between Iraq and Britain, allowing the 1930 treaty to be terminated. On 15 December 1954, in the Iraqi Chamber of Deputies, Nuri had announced that his government would terminate the treaty with Britain prior to its expiration in 1957, and promised to inform Parliament in February or at the latest in March 1955 about the way in which the Anglo-Iraqi Treaty would be terminated. He added that he had no intention of denouncing the treaty, but would replace it
Iraq and of the Middle East in general.2
