On 2 August 1990 Iraqi forces invaded Kuwait. The Iraqi occupation and subsequent Gulf War between Iraq and US-led coalition forces, which culminated in the restoration of Kuwaiti sovereignty in February 1991, reshaped domestic politics throughout the Gulf. Its greatest impact was on Kuwait.

The Iraqi invasion caught Kuwait by surprise. Although the history of Iraq and Kuwait had long been troubled, relations appeared to have been improving in recent years. Throughout the Iran–Iraq War of the 1980s, a de facto alliance had been forged between the two states, with Kuwait supplying Iraq with $ 13 billion in direct support as well as logistical and diplomatic aid. Following the end of the Iran–Iraq War, Kuwaiti leaders hoped to translate that improved relationship into a new treaty that would finally end the still unresolved dispute over borders. Several meetings in early 1990 were held to discuss border issues as well as the other troubling issues in the relationship: the Rumaila oilfield and Kuwait's outstanding loans to Iraq. Meetings were still being held in Jidda at the end of July 1990 and, although they were not going well, there was nothing to indicate something so massive as an invasion afoot.

In the early hours of 2 August 1990, 150,000 Iraqi troops crossed into Kuwait. The amir and members of the ruling family fled to Saudi Arabia.