Saudi Arabia - History During the first World War, in which Turkey was allied with Germany; the Arabs under Ottoman rule rebelled. In 1915 the United Kingdom signed a treaty of friendship with Ibn Sa´ud, who was then master of central Arabia, securing his co-operation against Turkey. Ibn Sa´ud successfully campaigned against the rulers of four Arabian states (the Hejaz, Asir, Hayil and Jauf) between 1919 and 1925. In September 1924 his forces captured Mecca, forcing Hussein to abdicate, and in 1925 they overran the whole of the Hejaz. In January 1926 Ibn Sa´ud was proclaimed King of the Hejaz and Sultan of Najd. On 23 September 1932 the dual monarchy ended when the two areas were merged as the unified Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Commercially exploitable deposits of petroleum (the basis of Saudi Arabia´s modern prosperity) were discovered in the Eastern Province in 1938, and large-scale exploitation of the Saudi Arabia´s huge reserves for petroleum began after the Second World War. A consortium of US companies pioneered exploration, establishing close ties between Saudi Arabia and the USA. Petroleum royalties were used to develop and modernize Saudi Arabia´s infrastructure and services. In May 1981 Saudi Arabia joined five neighbouring states in establishing the Co-operation Council for the Arab States (GCC). In August Crown Prince (subsequently King) Fahd announced an eight-point plan for the settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict. His proposals, by implication, recognized Israel as a legitimate state. At a summit conference of Arab states in September 1982, the so-called "Fahd Plan" formed the basis of an agreed proposal for the achievement of peace in the Middle East, and during 1983 Saudi Arabia sponsored repeated diplomatic initiatives within the region. In November 1987 Saudi Arabia resumed full diplomatic relations with Egypt. Relations had been severed in 1979, following the signing of the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel. Relations with Iran, already strained as a result of Saudi Arabia´s support for Iraq in the Iran-Iraq war, deteriorated further in July 1987 following clashes between Iranian pilgrims and Saudi security forces during the Hajj, in whith 402 people, including 275 Iranians, were killed. Mass demonstrations took place in Teheran, where the Saudi Arabian embassy was sacked, and Iranian leaders vowed to avenge the pilgrims´ deaths by overthrowing the Saudi ruling family. In March 1988 the Government announced its intention temporarily to limit the number of pilgrims from abroad during the Hajj season by allocating national quotas. In April Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic relations with Iran, which refused to send pilgrims on that year´s Hajj. Iran boycotted the Hajj again in July 1989, owing to Saudi Arabia´s refusal to abandon the quota system restricting the number of pilgrims. The disclosure in March 1988 that Saudi Arabia had taken delivery of an unspecified number of medium-range missiles from the People´s Republic of China provoked Israeli threats of a pre-emptive military strike. The USA warned Israel against such action, but in April it was reported that King Fahd had made an unprecedented request for the replacement of the US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, following his delivery of an official complaint from the USA concerning the purchase of the missiles. In July, alter the US Congress had refused to sanction an agreement to supply military equipment to Saudi Arabia, the Government signed a large-scale defence procurement agreement with the United Kingdom, which superseded the USA as Saudi Arabia´s main supplier of military equipment. In late 1997, as the crisis developed regarding access to sites in Iraq by weapons inspectors of the UN Special Commission, Saudi Arabia firmly advocated a diplomatic solution. In February 1998 Saudi Arabia stated that it would not allow the USA to use Saudi territory as a base for air-strikes against Iraq, and reiterated its desire for a diplomatic solution.