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At the northwest extreme of the Gulf, Kuwait is dwarfed by its neighbors. The flat, almost featureless landscape conceals huge oil and gas reserves which put Kuwait among the world's first oil-rich states. In 1990 Iraq invaded, claiming it as its 19th province. A US-led alliance, under the aegis of the UN, expelled Iraqi forces following a short war in 1991 and restored the rule of the al-Sabah dynasty. Kuwait served as the launching point for the 2003 invasion of Iraq.