The Buraimi Dispute
Anyone who follows Britain’s policy in its dealings with King Abdulaziz will see that neither side was ever fully comfortable with the other. Yet circumstances and mutual interests dictated the continuation of relations that frequently suffered tension and near‑rupture. King Abdulaziz recognized Britain’s greed and exploitation, and thus no longer viewed it favorably—especially after it rejected the oil concession for his country and allowed defamatory articles about him to be published in Indian newspapers.
For this reason, he decided early on that Britain’s friendship had run its course. Sheikh Hafiz Wahba notes that from 1351–1357 AH (1932–1937), Britain’s traditional policy drifted away from the Kingdom. As soon as World War II ended, Britain resumed provoking him without regard for the rights of friendship.
Al‑Zarkali wrote in The Arabian Peninsula:
“King Abdulaziz feared Britain for his own safety and avoided confrontation with it as much as possible. His dispute with them over the Buraimi Oasis was only one aspect of a broader conflict.”
Al‑Zarkali affirmed that the dispute with Britain was old and deep, dating back to 1345 AH / 1925. Although this conflict was concealed during the last seven years of his life, it resurfaced once King Saud assumed power. Al‑Zarkali recounts that when Prince Saud, the eldest son and Crown Prince, visited Britain in 1354 AH / 1935, he received a telegram from his father on 9 Rabi‘ II 1354 AH in response to a message Saud had sent him. King Abdulaziz wrote:
“Your telegram reached us before what The Times published. That is not the hidden intention of the British. Had that been their aim, they would not have published it in your presence. They only wanted to show that the matter is unresolved so that it weighs heavily on you. Remain firm in your position, for we cannot abandon our claims. They need us, and our demands are legitimate. Our argument is strong, and you have nothing to fear.”
From that time, Britain appeared to be cooling its relations with the Kingdom, especially after American oil companies succeeded in extracting oil from Saudi territory—something British companies, despite being given priority by King Abdulaziz, had failed to achieve. Relations improved only slightly before World War II.
The borders between the Kingdom and British‑controlled territories—Qatar, the Emirates, Oman, the Aden Protectorates, and with Yemen in the Empty Quarter—were disputed, as no formal border agreements had been reached. The issue became particularly acute in the late 1350s–1360s AH when oil exploration began. A struggle erupted between Saudi Arabia and Britain over the Buraimi Oasis, which Britain claimed on behalf of Abu Dhabi and Muscat, both under British protection.
The oasis, roughly 2,000 square kilometers, had long been a crossroads for caravan routes in southeastern Arabia. It had been annexed to the First Saudi State and became part of the Eastern Province, but Britain rejected this claim on behalf of its protectorates.
The historical dispute continued and escalated. In 1369 AH / 1949, Britain prevented Saudi Arabia from conducting exploration in the area. The Saudi government chose not to escalate and postponed exploration.
In 1370 AH / 1950, Saudi Arabia protested Britain’s exploration activities in land whose ownership was unresolved. The British ambassador claimed that Saudi Arabia’s ownership claim had no basis.
In 1371 AH / 1951, Britain and Saudi Arabia agreed to halt exploration and hold successive conferences in both countries. These talks produced no results, and relations deteriorated further, especially over Buraimi. King Abdulaziz ordered the formation of a civil mission to administer the region and resolve tribal issues, headed by Prince Turki bin Atishan, who began work in 1372 AH / 1952.
But the British returned the following year and besieged the mission.
In 1374 AH / 1954, after King Abdulaziz’s death and King Saud’s accession, representatives of Saudi Arabia and Britain signed an agreement in France to refer the dispute to an arbitration committee in Geneva. Early in 1375 AH / 1955, Britain realized the committee’s decision would not favor it, so it instructed its representative to resign and then forcibly occupied the Buraimi area.
King Saud reacted strongly. He declared repeatedly to the press, radio, and television that there was no dispute between his government and the governments of Abu Dhabi or Muscat, but only with the British government. He protested vigorously and demanded the immediate withdrawal of British forces. He reinforced this by filing a complaint against Britain with the UN Security Council and the United Nations.
The United States remained neutral, acting as a mediator to prevent escalation. Saudi Arabia eventually agreed to withdraw its mission and suspend negotiations.
In 1376 AH / 1956, the British Undersecretary of State arrived in the Kingdom and held a series of meetings with King Saud’s government, followed by the British ambassador in Jeddah. Just as negotiations were about to begin, King Saud ordered the severing of diplomatic relations with Britain and banned oil exports to it due to its participation in the Tripartite Aggression against Egypt.
Yet fate would bring Saudi Arabia and Britain together in a common cause in 1381 AH / 1961, when Kuwait faced the threat of invasion by Iraq under Abd al‑Karim Qasim. King Saud sent Saudi forces to defend Kuwait.
Saudi‑British tensions gradually eased until 1382 AH / 1962, when Prince Faisal, Saudi Foreign Minister, met the British Foreign Secretary at the UN. They agreed to resume diplomatic relations and reopen talks on Buraimi in 1383 AH / 1963. The Saudi ambassador then returned to London.
This is the sequence of political relations between the Kingdom and Britain, and the prominent role of King Saud—both as prince and king—in shaping them. One of the most significant and sensitive aspects of this relationship is found in a document cited by Khair al‑Din al‑Zarkali in The Arabian Peninsula, in which King Saud, on behalf of his father, assured the U.S. President and his government that the Kingdom had remained loyal to its British friends since its founding, despite many difficulties. He affirmed that understanding with Britain was possible, despite its occasionally negative and unfriendly positions, and that the Kingdom felt Britain was biased against it and had abandoned balanced policy in favor of strengthening Saudi Arabia’s rivals.
Dispute Between Saud and Dulles
King Saud Refuses to Issue a Statement Requested by the United States
Washington, Feb. 3 — United Press
It was learned today at the U.S. State Department that a disagreement had arisen between King Saud and the U.S. Department of State.
Secretary of State John Foster Dulles had asked King Saud to issue a statement on the situation in Syria, hinting—at least indirectly—at the dangers of communism.
But King Saud remained silent and issued no statement, because he wanted Dulles to play a major role in resolving the Saudi‑British dispute over the Buraimi Oasis.
Diplomatic observers believed it unlikely that King Saud would issue such a statement at that time. They noted that Loy Henderson, the U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, did not visit King Saud in Riyadh during his regional tour.
These sources believed that Dulles was still unwilling to exert pressure on Britain to push it toward an agreement with King Saud regarding Buraimi.
Saud Warns Britain of Accepting Arms from Russia
Offering Britain Oil Exploration Rights in Buraimi if the Dispute Is Resolved
London, Feb. 6 — by Harry Howes, Al‑Ahram Bureau Chief
The Daily Express published a dispatch from its correspondent Sefton Delmer, who had recently visited Riyadh at King Saud’s invitation. The dispatch stated that King Saud warned he might establish diplomatic relations with Russia if Britain did not resolve its dispute with Saudi Arabia over the Buraimi Oasis.
Accepting Arms from Russia
The correspondent added that King Saud also threatened to accept weapons from Russia and to grant Poland the contract to build the Hejaz railway.
Oil Exploration Concession
He further reported that if Britain agreed to settle the Buraimi dispute, King Saud would not object to granting it the oil exploration concession in the oasis.
Baghdad Pact Against the Arabs
The correspondent added that King Saud condemned the Iraqi‑British Baghdad Pact, saying it served only the interests of the Arabs’ adversaries. He expressed hope that friendly relations with Britain would return to their former state and said he would not be surprised if a revolution erupted in Iraq against the pact.
Delmer was known to be pro‑Israel and had previously attacked Saudi Arabia, but King Saud overlooked all of that, adopting a broader perspective. He invited the press to meet him and discuss relations between the two countries.
Source: Al‑Ahram
Date: 7 February 1956