Historical Dictionary of the Kurds

SAADABAD, TREATY OF

The Treaty of Saadabad was concluded in 1937 betweenIran,Turkey, andIraq. Its main unstated purpose was to harmonize the policies of these three states on the potentially volatile Kurdish issue that overlapped their borders and tempted each to use the Kurds against the others. In so doing, the Treaty of Saadabad adumbrated theBaghdad Pactof 1955. Neither, however, proved ultimately successful. Saadabad was the palace ofReza Shah Pahlavi.