United Nations Security Council Resolution 660, adopted on August 2, 1990, after noting its alarm of the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq, the Council condemned the invasion and demanded Iraq withdraw immediately and unconditionally to positions as they were on August 1, 1990.

Yemen called upon Iraq and Kuwait to enter into immediate negotiations to resolve their differences, thanking the Arab League for its efforts. Talks between both sides broke down the day before in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The Council also decided to meet again as necessary to ensure compliance with the current resolution.

The resolution was adopted by 14 votes to none, while Yemen did not participate in voting. It was the first of twelve resolutions on the conflict passed in 1990.

In United Nations Security Council Resolution 661, adopted on August 6, 1990, reaffirming Resolution 660 (1990) and noting Iraq's refusal to comply with it and Kuwait's right of self-defence, the Council took steps to implement international sanctions on Iraq under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter. This was the second resolution by the Security Council over the invasion of Kuwait.

The Council therefore decided that states should prevent:

(a) the import of all products and commodities originating in Iraq or Kuwait;

(b) any activities by their nationals or in their territories that would promote the export of products originating in Iraq or Kuwait, as well as the transfer of funds to either country for the purposes of such activities;

(c) the sale of weapons or other military equipment to Iraq and Kuwait, excluding humanitarian aid;

(d) the availability of funds or other financial or economic resources to either country, or to any commercial, industrial or public utility operating within them, except for medical or humanitarian purposes.

Resolution 661 called on all member states, including non-members of the United Nations, to act strictly in accordance with the resolution, and decided to establish a Committee of the Security Council consisting of all members of the Council, to examine reports by the Secretary-General Javier Pérez de Cuéllar on the situation and seek information from states on the action they are taking to implement Resolution 661, requesting they all co-operate with the Committee.

Finally, the Council stressed that the sanctions regime imposed should not affect assistance given to the legitimate Government of Kuwait. The resolution was adopted by 13 votes to none, while Cuba and Yemen abstained from voting.

After the end of the Gulf War and the Iraqi withdrawal from Kuwait, the sanctions were linked to removal of weapons of mass destruction by Resolution 687 (1991). The effects of government policy and the sanctions regime led to hyperinflation, widespread poverty and malnutrition.

United Nations Security Council Resolution 665, adopted on August 25, 1990, after demanding the full and immediate implementation of resolutions 660, 661, 662 and 664, the Council authorised a naval blockade to enforce the embargo against Iraq, in the aftermath of its invasion of Kuwait on August 2, 1990.

On 6 August 1990, after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, the Security Council adopted Resolution 661 (1990) which imposed economic sanctions on Iraq, providing for a full trade embargo, excluding medical supplies, food and other items of humanitarian necessity, these to be determined by the Security Council sanctions committee. After authorising the naval blockade, the Council invited Member States to co-operate with one another, and with the Military Staff Committee, to ensure compliance with the provisions of Resolution 661 (1990). It also requested the Secretary-General to report back to the Council on developments in the situation.

Resolution 665 was adopted by 13 votes to none, with two abstentions from Cuba and Yemen. It avoided invoking the authority and purview of the Council under Article 42, Chapter VII, which would make the blockade legally enforceable.