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In 1990, Iraq invaded its neighbor Kuwait in an attempt to control Kuwait’s oil reserves and to free itself of the debt it owed to the Kuwaiti state. The United States had supported Iraq in the 1980s in its fight against Iran but grew increasingly concerned with Iraq’s position in the Arab world and its discontent with Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, two countries the United States relied on for oil. When Iraq invaded Kuwait, the United Nations Security Council, led by the United States, passed a resolution to send a coalition to drive Iraqi forces out of Kuwait. This military engagement became known as Operation Desert Storm. Overwhelmed by the U.S.–UN coalition, Iraqi forces were quickly defeated, and the conflict ended in January 1991.