Invasion of Kuwait Invasion of Kuwait The Invasion of Kuwait on 2 August 1990 was a two-day operation conducted by Iraq against the neighboring state of Kuwait, which resulted in the seven-month-long Iraqi occupation of the country. This invasion and Iraq's subsequent refusal to withdraw from Kuwait by a deadline mandated by the United Nations led to military intervention by a United Nations-authorized coalition of forces led by the United States. These events came to be known as the first Gulf War and resulted in the expulsion of Iraqi forces from Kuwait and the Iraqis setting 600 Kuwaiti oil wells on fire during
Iraq–Kuwait relations Iraq–Kuwait relations The international relations between Iraq and Kuwait have been turbulent, fuelled by Iraqi debt and conflicts over oil. Until 2004, Iraqi-Kuwaiti relations were characterized by the Iraqi government claiming historic rights to Kuwait. Ever since Kuwaiti independence in 1961, the Iraqi governments sought various opportunities to reclaim and annex Kuwait. A short-lived crisis evolved in 1961, as the Iraqi government threatened to invade Kuwait and the invasion was finally averted following plans by the Arab League to form an international Arab force against Iraqi designs on Kuwait. Another crisis evolved on 20 March 1973, when Iraqi army units