Sanctions against Iraq Sanctions against Iraq The sanctions against Iraq were a near-total financial and trade embargo imposed by the United Nations Security Council on Ba'athist Iraq. They began August 6, 1990, four days after Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, stayed largely in force until May 2003 (after Saddam Hussein's being forced from power), and persisted in part, including reparations to Kuwait, through the present. The original stated purposes of the sanctions were to compel Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait, to pay reparations, and to disclose and eliminate any weapons of mass destruction. Initially the UN Security Council imposed stringent economic sanctions on Iraq
Iran–Kuwait relations Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE voiced strong support for the withdrawal, which Kuwait did not join. Kuwait's plans for regional development, including the "Silk City project" that aims to develop the Kuwaiti Islands, includes developing mutually beneficial economic ties with Iran. Iran–Kuwait relations Kuwait has close and friendly relations with Iran. Kuwait describes its relations with Iran as "excellent and historical". Kuwait sided with Iraq in the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq War. According to a declassified 1987 CIA document, Kuwait and Iran were on a "collision course". The document attributes deteriorating relations between the two countries to an increase in Iranian attacks