Iraq disarmament timeline 1990–2003 lists the notable developments in the reduction in the military capabilities and categories of armaments of the regime of Saddam Hussein prior to the American Invasion of the country in 2003.
1990 24 July 1990 Nine days before Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, US State Department spokeswoman, Margaret Tutwiler states: "We do not have any defence treaties with Kuwait, and there are no special defence or security commitments to Kuwait." 2 August 1990 The Gulf War begins when Iraqi troops invaded Kuwait with armor and infantry, occupying strategic posts throughout the country, including the Emir's palace. The UN Security Council passes Resolution 660, condemning Iraq's invasion and demanding a immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Iraqi troops. 6 August 1990 The UN Security Council passes Resolution 661, placing economic sanctions on Iraq. 8 August 1990 Iraq appoints puppet regime in Kuwait which declares a merger with Iraq. 29 November 1990 The UN Security Council passes Resolution 678, giving Iraq a withdrawal deadline of 15 January 1991, and authorizing member states "all necessary means to uphold and implement Resolution 660" if Iraq failed to withdraw by that deadline.
1991 12 January 1991 The United States Congress passed a joint resolution to authorizing the use of military force to drive Iraq out of Kuwait. 17 January 1991 A day after a deadline was passed set in Resolution 678, Coalition forces launch Operation Desert Storm with a massive air campaign against targets in Iraq and Kuwait. 22 February 1991 Iraq agrees to a Soviet-proposed cease-fire agreement. The US rejected the proposal but said that retreating Iraqi forces would not be attacked, and gave twenty-four hours for Iraq to begin withdrawing forces from Kuwait. 24 February 1991 The US-led ground campaign begins for the Liberation of Kuwait. 26 February 1991 Iraqi troops begin to retreat out of Kuwait, setting fire to Kuwaiti oil fields as part of a scorched earth policy. 28 February 1991 One hundred hours after the ground campaign started, US President George H. W. Bush declared a ceasefire. Kuwait has been fully liberated. 3 March 1991 Iraq accepts the terms of a ceasefire. Mid March – Early April 1991 Iraqi military forces suppress Kurdish and Shiites Muslim rebellions in the southern and northern parts of the country during the 1991 uprising in Iraq, creating a humanitarian disaster on the borders of Turkey and Iran. 3 April 1991 The U.N. Security Council passes a ceasefire agreement, Resolution 687. The resolution also called for the destruction, or removal of all chemical and biological weapons, all stocks of agents and components, all research, development, support and manufacturing facilities for ballistic missiles with a range greater than 150 km and related repair and production facilities, recognize Kuwait, account for missing Kuwaitis, return Kuwaiti property and end its support for international terrorism. This resolution created a special commission, UNSCOM, to inspect Iraq's chemical, biological and nuclear facilities. Iraq was required to turn over all biological and chemical weapons to UNSCOM for destruction, and ordered to respect the 1968 Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Treaty. 4 April 1991 According to UNSCOM, Iraqi nuclear scientists are ordered to hide nuclear weapons from UN inspectors, collect and hide computer data, and formulate a "legal" justification for the existence of Iraqi nuclear labs. 5 April 1991 The UN Security Council passes Resolution 688, condemning Iraq's repressive measures exercised against civilians. The council also demands access for humanitarian groups. 6 April 1991 Iraq accepts Resolution 687. 8 April 1991 At a European Union meeting in Luxembourg, a UN safe-haven and a no-fly zone, code-named Operation Provide Comfort, in northern Iraq was established north of the latitude 36 degrees north, for the protection of Kurds. The US orders Iraq to end all military action in the northern Kurdish area. 18 April 1991 Iraq declares some of its chemical weapons and materials to the UN, as required by Resolution 687, and claims that it does not have biological weapons program 19 April 1991 Swedish diplomat Rolf Ekéus is appointed as the Executive Chairman of UNSCOM. 15–21 May 1991 First on-site inspections under UNSCR 687 in Iraq conducted by the International Atomic Energy Agency 9 June 1991 UNSCOM begins its first inspections in Iraq 17 June 1991 The Security Council affirms in Resolution 699 that Iraq was responsible for the costs of the inspections, and Resolution 700 fully implementing the arms embargo against Iraq 23–28 June 1991 UNSCOM/IAEA teams attempt to intercept Iraqi vehicles carrying nuclear related equipment called calutrons. Iraqi soldiers fire warning shots in the air to prevent inspectors from approaching the vehicles. Summer, 1991 Rolf Ekéus, Executive Chairman of UNSCOM, arranges for a loan to UNSCOM of a US Lockheed U-2 spy plane for taking surveillance photos of Iraq. 2 August 1991 UNSCOM's biological inspection team is told by Iraq that any research into biological weapons was "for defensive military purposes." 15 August 1991 The UN Security Council proposes Resolution 706, a "food for oil" resolution, allowing Iraq to export up to $1.6bn of oil, the revenue from which would be paid into a UN-administered account. This money would then only be used to buy food, medicines and other essential material for Iraqis over a six-month period. Some of this money would also be used to meet compensation payments to Kuwait and the cost of UN operations. The UN Security Council passes Resolution 707, emphasising the need for Iraq to allow UNSCOM and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) immediate and unconditional access to any areas they wish to inspect. Iraq was also ordered not to move or hide anything relating to its nuclear, chemical or biological programs. September 1991 Former US Marine intelligence officer Scott Ritter is hired as a UNSCOM inspector 21–30 September 1991 Combined UNSCOM/IAEA team co-led by Robert Gallucci and David Kay discover files exposing Iraq's hidden nuclear weapons program. Iraqi officials confiscate documents and return most hours later. Inspection of Iraq's nuclear weapons program headquarters the next day yields additional documents that inspectors refuse to relinquish. In response, Iraq refuses to allow the inspection team to leave the site without turning over the documents. A four-day standoff ensues, but Iraq permits the team to leave with the documents after a statement from the UN Security Council threatens enforcement actions. 11 October 1991 The UN Security Council passes Resolution 715, which approves joint UNSCOM and IAEA plans for ongoing monitoring and verification. The resolution demands that Iraq "accept unconditionally the inspectors and all other personnel designated by the Special Commission" Iraq says that it considers the Monitoring and Verification Plans adopted by Resolution 715 to be unlawful, and states that it is not ready to comply with the Resolution.
1992 18 February 1992 The Executive Chairman of UNSCOM details Iraq's refusal to abide by UN Security Council disarmament resolutions. 19 March 1992 Iraq declares the existence of 89 ballistic missiles and chemical weapons. Iraq also claims that it unilaterally destroyed most of these materials the previous summer, in violation of resolution 687. April 1992 Iraq calls for a halt to UNSCOM's aerial surveillance flights. The UN Security Council reaffirms UNSCOM's right to conduct such flights May–June 1992 Iraq discloses some of its prohibited weapons programs. July 1992 UNSCOM begins to destroy large quantities of Iraq's chemical weapons and production facilities 6–29 July 1992 Iraq refuses an inspection team access to the Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture. UNSCOM claimed that it had reliable information that the site contained archives related to illegal weapons activities. UN Inspectors stage a 17-day "sit-in" outside of the building. UN inspectors eventually leave when their safety is threatened, and the UN Security Council seems unwilling to support their efforts to enter the building with a threat of force. 26 August 1992 A No-Fly Zone, which prohibits the flights of Iraqi aircraft, was established in southern Iraq, south of latitude 32 degrees north to protect the Shiite's population, codename Operation Southern Watch.
1993 January 1993 Iraq refuses to allow UNSCOM to use its own aircraft to fly into Iraq. Iraq also starts military incursions into the demilitarized zone between Iraq and Kuwait and increases its military activity in the northern and southern No-Fly Zones. 19 January 1993 US President George H. W. Bush, on his final day in office, orders a Tomahawk cruise missiles attack of the Zaafaraniya Nuclear Fabrication and Industrial Complex in the Baghdad suburbs, linking the factory to nuclear weapons manufacturing capability. A stray missile hits the Al-Rashid Hotel in Baghdad. Iraq agrees to allow UNSCOM to use their own aircraft to fly into Iraq. 13 April 1993 The Kuwaiti government claims to uncover an Iraqi assassination plot against former US President George H. W. Bush shortly after his ceremonial visit to Kuwait. Two Iraqi nationals, caught with smuggled hashish and alcohol inside Kuwait, confess to driving a car-bomb into Kuwait on behalf of the Iraqi Intelligence Service. 18 June 1993 Iraq refuses to allow UNSCOM weapons inspectors to install remote-controlled monitoring cameras at two missile engine test stands. 26 June 1993 US President Bill Clinton warns Iraq over its standoff with UNSCOM inspectors. 27 June 1993 US President Bill Clinton orders a cruise missile attack on Iraqi intelligence headquarters in the Al-Mansur district, Baghdad, in retaliation for an attempted assassination by Iraqi agents on former US President George H. W. Bush in Kuwait in mid-April. The cruise missiles were launched from the USS Peterson (DD-696) and USS Chancellorsville (CG-62) (Missiles were launched late on the evening of 26 June). 5 July 1993 UN inspection teams leave Iraq. Iraq then agrees to UNSCOM demands and the inspection teams return. 26 November 1993 Iraq accepts UN Resolution 715 and the plans for ongoing monitoring and verification.
1994 June 1994 UN weapons inspectors Ritter and Smidovitch learn, through Israeli intelligence reports, that Qusay Hussein, Saddam's son, is the key player in hiding Iraq's illegal weapons. UNSCOM completes destruction of large quantities of chemical warfare agents and production equipment September–October 1994 Iraq threatens to stop cooperating with UNSCOM inspectors and begins once again deploying troops near the Kuwait border. In response, the US begins to deploy troops to Kuwait. Code-named Operation Vigilant Warrior, 1st Brigade of the Fort Stewart, Georgia based 24th Infantry Division (Mechanized) deployed and drew pre-positioned equipment in Kuwait. 8 October 1994 President of the UN Security Council says that Iraq's demands are unacceptable and that the country must withdraw its troops from the Kuwait border. 15 October 1994 Iraq withdraws troops from its border with Kuwait. The UN Security Council passes Resolution 949, demanding that Iraq "cooperate fully" with UNSCOM and immediately withdraw forces recently deployed to southern Iraq, not use any forces in a hostile or threatening manner against either neighbouring countries or UN staff operating in Iraq, nor redeploy or enhance its military forces in the southern part of the country. Iraq withdraws its troops and once again begins to work with UNSCOM inspectors. 10 November 1994 The Iraqi National Assembly recognizes Kuwait's borders and its independence.
1995 March 1995 Iraq makes more disclosures about its prohibited biological and chemical weapons programs. 14 April 1995