or League of Arab States
Regional organization formed in 1945 and based in Cairo.
It initially comprised Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Transjordan (now Jordan), Saudi Arabia, and Yemen; joining later were Libya, Sudan, Tunisia, Morocco, Kuwait, Algeria, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Mauritania, Somalia, the Persian Gulf War (1990–91) also caused deep rifts. See also {{link=Pan-Arabism">Pan-Arabism .