Iraq, 1965 — military coup attempt
Event Summary
The dataset records an attempted military coup in Iraq on 16 September 1965, during the continued pro-Nasserist government of President Abd al-Salam Arif. In 1965 Arif's push toward union with Egypt remained deeply divisive within the Iraqi elite, and in early September 1965 the pro-union prime minister Arif Abd al-Razzaq, a Nasserist air force officer, reportedly attempted to seize power to force through immediate unification with Egypt while Arif was abroad. The move was thwarted, and al-Razzaq fled to Cairo.
The episode reflected the persistent tension between Nasserist officers seeking full union and those, including President Arif himself, who favored preserving Iraqi autonomy. Arif survived the challenge and continued as president until his death in a helicopter crash in April 1966, after which his brother Abd al-Rahman Arif faced a further al-Razzaq coup attempt in June 1966 before the Baath finally seized power in 1968.
Researched Details
Researched
Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.
Sources
Editorial Note
Cross-Reference
Datasets agree. At least two of the three reference datasets we check against carry this event, and none of them disagrees about its date or its result.
Identifiers for finding this same event in the other datasets:
- Cline Center id
64509161965- Albrecht/Koehler/Schutz (CAM) id
CAM-645-1965-09-16
How the match is made is described in crossref-report.md.
Outcome and Target
Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: President Abd al-Salam Arif survived the September 1965 pro-union coup attempt and remained in power until his death in 1966.
Baseline coding: Coup attempt failed to remove the incumbent. Recorded leader fate: remained in office; not physically harmed. The baseline file does not name individual targets; researched names are kept in a separate layer.
Baseline Dataset Citation
Baseline Source-Document Entries
CSP
Luttwak
New York Times
This is the citation trail carried by the baseline dataset, grouped by outlet and rejoined from the line-wrapped original. Coup Atlas has not independently re-checked every document; read the original before citing a specific claim. URLs the import damaged beyond safe repair are shown as plain text and listed in citations-report.md. How this list is built →