Iraqi invasion of Kuwait

On 2 August 1990, Iraq launched an invasion of Kuwait under the codename Project 17, an event that triggered the Gulf War. By 4 August, Iraq had defeated Kuwait’s forces and began a seven-month military occupation. The international community condemned the invasion, and the United Nations Security Council passed multiple resolutions demanding Iraq leave Kuwaiti territory. Iraq ignored these orders. Initially, Iraq set up a puppet state called the "Republic of Kuwait," but on 28 August 1990, it formally annexed the entire country. Northern Kuwait was turned into the Saddamiyat al-Mitla' District and added to Iraq’s Basra Governorate, while southern Kuwait became the new Kuwait Governorate. In November 1990, UNSC Resolution 678 gave Iraq an ultimatum: withdraw unconditionally by 15 January 1991 or face removal by "all necessary means." The UNSC then authorized the formation of an American-led military coalition.

When Iraq missed the deadline, the coalition began an aerial bombardment campaign on 17 January 1991 to force Iraqi troops out of Kuwait. Over the next month, as the bombing continued, Iraq launched missiles at Israel, hoping that an Israeli counterstrike would cause Muslim-majority coalition members to withdraw their support. Israel did not retaliate. On 23 February 1991, the coalition launched a ground invasion of Iraqi-occupied Kuwait and parts of Iraq. As Iraqi forces retreated, they set fire to more than 700 Kuwaiti oil wells, but this did not stop the coalition’s advance. By 28 February 1991, Iraq’s military was devastated, and Kuwait’s independence was restored.

The reasons behind Iraq’s decision to attack Kuwait remain disputed. One theory points to Iraq’s inability to repay the US$14 billion it had borrowed from Kuwait during the Iran–Iraq War. Supporters of this view note that Kuwait increased its oil production, which kept Iraq’s revenues low. Kuwait’s output exceeded the quota set by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), and OPEC had urged Kuwait to moderate production amid falling global oil prices. Iraq saw Kuwait’s refusal to cut production as an attack on its economy. In early 1990, Iraq also accused Kuwait of slant drilling to steal Iraqi oil from the Rumaila field across the border. However, some Iraqi sources suggest that Saddam Hussein had decided to invade Kuwait months earlier. Within two days of the invasion, most Kuwaiti military units were overrun, and most Kuwaiti officials fled to exile in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.

**Background**

**Iran–Iraq War and Iraqi debt to Kuwait** When the Iran–Iraq War began, Kuwait stayed neutral and tried to mediate. In 1982, Kuwait and other Persian Gulf Arab states backed Iraq to contain Iran’s revolutionary government. From 1982 to 1983, Kuwait started lending Iraq significant sums. This financial support often provoked Iranian hostility: Iran targeted Kuwaiti oil tankers in 1984 and fired on Kuwaiti security personnel on Bubiyan Island in 1988. During the war, with Basra’s port closed, Kuwait served as Iraq’s main port. After the war ended, relations between the two neighbors soured over economic and diplomatic issues, leading to the invasion. Iraq, unable to repay the US$14 billion it had borrowed from Kuwait, asked Kuwait to forgive the debt, arguing that the war had prevented Iranian domination of Kuwait. Kuwait’s refusal to write off the debt strained ties. Several meetings between Kuwaiti and Iraqi leaders in late 1989 failed to produce an agreement.

**Kuwaiti economic warfare and alleged slant drilling** In 1988, Iraq’s Oil Minister, Issam Al-Chalabi, pushed for OPEC members to reduce crude oil production quotas to end the 1980s oil glut. He believed higher oil prices would help Iraq repay its US$60 billion debt by boosting revenues. Kuwait, with its large downstream petroleum industry, was less concerned about crude oil prices. In 1989, Kuwait asked OPEC to raise its production ceiling by 50%, to 1.35 million barrels per day. Throughout the 1980s, Kuwait had already been producing well above its OPEC quota, which kept crude prices low. OPEC’s lack of consensus thwarted Iraq’s efforts to end the glut and recover its war-damaged economy. Former Iraqi Foreign Minister Tariq Aziz noted that every US$1 drop in oil prices cost Iraq US$1 billion in annual revenue, causing a severe financial crisis. Iraq viewed Kuwait’s refusal to lower production as an act of aggression. Tensions escalated further when Iraq accused Kuwait of slant drilling across the border into Iraq’s Rumaila oil field.