| Iran-Turkey border مرز ترکیه و ایران İran–Türkiye sınırı | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Characteristics | |
| Entities |  Iran Turkey |
| Length | 560 km (350 mi)[1] |
TheIran–Turkey border (Persian:مرز ترکیه و ایران;Turkish:İran–Türkiye sınırı) is 534 kilometres (332 miles) in length, and runs from thetripoint withAzerbaijan in the north to the tripoint withIraq in the south.[2]
The border starts in the north at the tripoint with Azerbaijan'sNakhchivan Autonomous Republic on theAras river. The border then proceeds to the north-west along the Karasu Çayı river, thereby granting Turkey a sliver of territory linking it to Azerbaijan. The border then proceeds south-west and then south via a series of irregular overland lines, down to the Iraqi tripoint. The border region is extremely mountainous and is populated mostly byKurds on both sides.
TheOttoman Empire had conquered much of what is now Iraq fromSafavid Persia in theOttoman–Safavid War of 1532–1555. The war concluded with thePeace of Amasya, by which Ottoman rule over the region was confirmed.[3][4] Ottoman control of Mesopotamia and eastern Turkey was confirmed following theOttoman–Safavid War (1623–1639), which ended with theTreaty of Zuhab.[5][6][7][8] The Zuhab treaty stipulated that the boundary between the two empires would run between theZagros Mountains and theTigris River, though a precise lines was not drawn at that time.[9]
During theOttoman–Hotaki War (1722–1727) the Ottomans invaded Iran in league withRussia, gaining large parts of north-west Iran via theTreaty of Hamedan.[9]Another war followed in the 1740s which was ended by theTreaty of Kerden in 1746, which restored Iran's western provinces and re-affirmed the 1639 Zuhab border.[10][9]
TheOttoman–Persian War (1821–1823) ended with the signing of theFirst Treaty of Erzurum, which re-affirmed the 1639 Zuhab border.[11][12][9] A boundary commission involving Iranian, Ottoman, Russian and British officials assisted with the boundary delimitation, resulting in theSecond Treaty of Erzurum of 1847 which affirmed the 1639 border with some small modifications.[13][9] The four-way boundary commission resumed its work in the following years, and after much work and cartographic disputation a detailed map was produced in 1869.[9] Some small modification were made in the vicinity ofQatur as a result of theTreaty of Berlin (1878).[9]
Despite the work of the commission, disputes concerning the precise boundary alignment continued. The Ottomans and Iran agreed to work on a more precise demarcation in 1911 at the urging ofRussia and theBritain, both of whom hadcolonial aspirations in the region.[9][14][15][16] From November 1913 to October 1914 a boundary commission established the Constantinople Protocol, providing a detailed delimitation of the entire boundary.[9] The four-nation boundary commission then surveyed the border on the ground and demarcated it with pillars (excluding theQatur area which remained in dispute), producing a detailed series of maps depicting the confirmed frontier.[9]
During theFirst World War anArab Revolt, supported by Britain, succeeded in removing the Ottomans from most of the Middle East. As a result of the secret 1916 Anglo-FrenchSykes–Picot Agreement Britain gained control of the Ottoman Vilayets ofMosul,Baghdad andBasra, which it organised intoMandatory Iraq in 1920.[9]
By the 1920Treaty 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.[9][17] Turkish nationalists were outraged at the treaty, contributing to the outbreak of theTurkish War of Independence; the Turkish success in this conflict rendered Sèvres obsolete.[9] By the 1923Treaty 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.[18] In the east the former Ottoman-Iran boundary was retained, now forming the borders between Iran and Iraq, and also Iran and the newRepublic of Turkey.[9]
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On 9 April 1929, a treaty was signed in Ankara between Turkey and Iran to further delimit their border, partly in response to the KurdishArarat rebellion; this was then finalised at the 1932 Tehran Convention, resulting in some small exchanges of territory in the vicinity ofLittle Ararat,Bazhergah andQotur.[9][19][20][21] The border was then demarcated and a final agreement signed in Tehran on 26 May 1937.[9]
From 2017, Turkey began construction a barrier along the Turkey-Iran border aimed at preventing illegal crossings and smuggling.[22] The wall will cover 144 km (89 miles)[23][24] of the border. As of December 2017, half of the border barrier had been finished.[25] According to the responsible officials, the border barrier should have been completed by spring 2019.[26] The national housing commission TOKİ is building the wall in the provincesIğdır andAğrı.[23]
There are three crossings along the entire border, two for vehicular traffic and one for vehicular and rail traffic.[27] The busiest of three,Gürbulak, is among the busiest border checkpoints in the world.[citation needed]
| Turkish checkpoint | Province | Iranian checkpoint | Province | Opened | Route in Turkey | Route in Iran | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gürbulak | Ağrı | Bazargan | West Azerbaijan | 4 September 1953[citation needed] |  |  | Open |
| Kapıköy | Van | Razi | West Azerbaijan | 16 April 2011[citation needed] |  |  | Open |
| Esendere | Hakkâri | Serow | West Azerbaijan | 15 September 1964[citation needed] |  |  | Open |
| Borualan | Iğdır | N/A | West Azerbaijan | 1 January 1985[citation needed] |  |  | Closed |
The Turkish government has expanded its plans to build a concrete wall along the Iranian border to cover the entirety of the frontier of 295 kilometres (183 miles), Van Governor Mehmet Emin Bilmez said on July 27, 2021.[28][29]
The wall is 3 metres (9.8 feet) high, and patrols have been reinforced in the light of the2021 Fall of Afghanistan toTaliban.[30]
With the 2021 fall of Afghanistan, a wave of refugees have been crossing Iran, then into Turkey. Both economic migrants looking for job opportunities and refugees fleeing Taliban violence or extorsions have been reported. Turkish border police have raised their efforts, violently massing those refugees at the border, pushing back into Iran, arresting them when they crossed, and deporting them without due process. Evidence of special efforts to prevent reporters from documenting this issue have been reported.[31]
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