The Persian Gulf War or Gulf War (also known as the mother of all battles (Um Al Mā'arik) Ar: ام المعارك in Iraq) (2 August 1990 – 28 February 1991) was a conflict between Iraq and a coalition force from 34 nations authorized by the United Nations (UN) but led primarily by the United States and the United Kingdom in order to return Kuwait to the control of the Emir of Kuwait. The conflict developed in the context of the Iran–Iraq War and in 1990 Iraq accused Kuwait of stealing Iraq's oil through slant drilling. The invasion of Kuwait by Iraqi troops was met with immediate economic sanctions against Iraq by some members of the UN Security Council, and with immediate preparation for war by the United States of America and the United Kingdom. The expulsion of Iraqi troops from Kuwait began in January 1991 and was a decisive victory for the coalition forces, which took over Kuwait and entered Iraqi territory. Aerial and ground combat was confined to Iraq, Kuwait, and bordering areas of Saudi Arabia. Iraq also launched missiles against targets in Saudi Arabia and Israel in retaliation for their support of the invading forces in Kuwait. Since the Iran–Iraq War of 1980–88 had been called the "Persian Gulf War" by many news sources, the 1991 war has sometimes been called the "Second Persian Gulf War", but more commonly, the 1991 war is styled simply the "Gulf War" or the "First Gulf War", in distinction from the 2003 invasion of Iraq. "Operation Desert Storm" was the U.S. name of the air and land operations and is often incorrectly used to refer to the entire conflict. Each nation participating had its own operation name for its contibution - US Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm; UK Operation Granby; Canada Operation Friction etc. (via Wikipedia)