Kuwait Overrun by Iraqi Troops in Massive Invasion : Mideast: Forces cross border of oil-rich gulf state after talks on disputes fail. American officials say that invaders control parts of the capital city.

Iraqi troops moved into Kuwait early today in what a Kuwaiti official described as a “massive invasion” and were reported to have overrun parts of the capital city by midmorning.

U.S. officials in Washington confirmed that tank-equipped Iraqi troops had moved into major portions of Kuwait City, and early reports from the capital indicated that Iraqi troops had seized several government buildings.

“They (Iraq) have seized all administrative buildings, including the Information Ministry which houses the radio and television stations,” an unidentified government official told the Associated Press.

The United States strongly condemned the invasion early today and both Washington and Kuwait called for an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council to address the matter.

The council was called into session in New York early today.

The British Broadcasting Service, quoting Western diplomats in Kuwait, reported that both the American and British embassy compounds had been surrounded and that the British Embassy had come under fire.

In Baghdad, the Iraqi government reported that revolutionaries had overthrown the Kuwait government and warned against any foreign intervention.

“After toppling the regime in Kuwait, the young revolutionaries asked Iraq for help . . . and responding to the appeal of the temporary new free government in Kuwait, Iraq decided to render help,” said a statement from Iraq’s Revolutionary Command Council broadcast on Baghdad Radio.

News reports from the Kuwaiti capital said invading troops had also surrounded the palace of the ruler of Kuwait, Sheik Jabbar al Ahmed al Sabah.

Kuwait Radio confirmed that Iraqi troops crossed into Kuwait and occupied several border posts shortly after 2 a.m. “We did not expect Iraq to do this,” the Defense Ministry said in a statement broadcast by the official radio. “The Kuwaiti government asks Iraq to stop this irresponsible action and reserves the right to use all legitimate means.”

In Kuwait City, Western diplomats said sounds of gunfire began reaching the capital about 5:15 a.m., and Kuwaiti officials confirmed that their forces had engaged the invading troops. But officials had no indication of the size of the invasion or the extent of the fighting.

Shortly after 8:30 a.m., another Western official said Iraqi forces had moved into the capital. “They are in Kuwait City. That’s all I can tell you,” she said before hanging up the telephone.

At the White House, President Bush was informed of the invasion, and top aides were monitoring the situation. They issued a statement saying that the United States “is deeply concerned about this blatant act of aggression and demands the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of all Iraqi forces.”

“We are urging the entire international community to condemn this outrageous act of aggression,” White House Deputy Press Secretary Roman Popadiuk said. “The United States is reviewing all options in its response to the Iraqi aggression.”

The United States has a small naval task force of approximately six ships in the Persian Gulf. In addition, there are roughly 3,800 U.S. citizens in Kuwait, including 270 American officials.

There has been no indication of any U.S. casualties so far, White House officials said.

The United States could not confirm that sea lanes in the gulf had been blocked. Officials said all options including U.S. military operations were being considered but that no decisions had been made.

Secretary of States James A. Baker III, meeting in Siberia with Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze, asked the Soviet Union to cut off its arms shipment to Iraq.

American diplomats have been in contact with Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations. There have been no indications however of contacts with Iran, which is Iraq’s chief opponent in the region.

Officials at the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait City were awaiting instructions from Washington on whether to attempt to evacuate Americans from the tiny, oil-rich gulf state, which only a year ago had been Iraq’s ally in its eight-year war with Iran.

The invasion came within hours of the collapse of talks in Jidda, Saudi Arabia, aimed at resolving the Iraqis’ multibillion-dollar claim for money and territory against Kuwait.

The dispute began in mid-July, when Iraqi President Saddam Hussein accused Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates of flooding the oil market and driving prices down, claiming the move cost Iraq $14 billion in lost oil revenue.

Iraq is also accusing Kuwait of stealing $2.4 billion in oil it claims Kuwait illegally pumped from a field along the two countries’ long-disputed border. Kuwait believes Iraq is simply trying to persuade it to write off an estimated $30 billion in military loans granted by Kuwait to Iraq during its war with Iran.

In a statement to the official Iraqi News Agency after the collapse of the talks Wednesday, Deputy Prime Minister Sadoun Hammadi said the delegates gave up on the talks because they “did not see any seriousness by the Kuwaiti officials in tackling the major damage inflicted on Iraq due to their recent behavior and stands against Iraq’s fundamental interests.”

Kuwaiti officials, clearly stung, blamed the stalemate on Kuwait’s refusal to “give in” to Iraqi demands, but said they were ready to hold further talks in the Iraqi or Kuwaiti capitals.

Reports from Kuwait and Washington indicated earlier in the week that Iraq had massed up to 100,000 troops near the Kuwaiti border, although diplomats in Baghdad and reports from the border region had put the figure closer to 30,000.

In any case, the Iraqi force dwarfed the 20,000-strong Kuwaiti forces, and analysts had said Kuwait could not be expected to mount any realistic defense.

“Kuwait is not capable of protecting itself. It’s not even an issue,” said Geoffrey Kemp, a former National Security Council director of Near East affairs.

Iraq has 700 warplanes and a veteran air force that is considered one of the strongest in the region, while Kuwait has only 70 less-sophisticated aircraft with no pilots who have ever flown in combat. Kuwait, since its independence from Britain, has never engaged in any form of combat.

For the past several days, U.S. forces have been conducting an air refueling exercise in the gulf with the United Arab Emirates that is “designed to ensure that we have the capability to work effectively with friends in the area,” Assistant U.S. Secretary of State John Kelly told the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday. U.S. Navy ships in the region have “increased their vigilance,” he said.

“Historically, the U.S. has taken no position on the border disputes in the area, nor on matters pertaining to internal OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) deliberations, but the U.S. has taken a strong position in support of the sovereignty of all states in the area,” Kelly said.

A Western official in Cairo with close ties to the gulf region said that Iraq as recently as a year ago moved troops into the border region in an abortive conflict over Kuwaiti plans to build a vacation resort on disputed territory in the long-running border feud between the two gulf countries. But the troops, as in earlier incidents, were withdrawn.

The collapse of the talks Wednesday reflected the hard bargaining stance both countries had adopted in a dispute worth billions of dollars and strategically key territory to an increasingly restive Iraq, several analysts and diplomats said.

“What you’re seeing is bargaining over the price of a carpet,” said one. “The Iraqis today opened up with their price for the carpet. The Kuwaitis refused. We know the carpet is eventually going to be bought, but we don’t know yet at what price.”

Sources familiar with the dispute said it was likely that Iraq entered the talks Tuesday demanding full compensation plus forgiveness of the loans. Kuwait, they said, likely responded that it would be willing to pay some compensation to Iraq, but would consider it as a credit against the war debt Iraq still owes Kuwait.

Times staff writers Robin Wright, Melissa Healy and David Lauter contributed to this story.

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