Despite the catastrophic ending of the Suez campaign of 1956 Britain remained a presence in the Middle East and continued to take an active role in the affairs of the region. Kuwait was an area of special economic importance. The conservative sheikhdom, among the richest territories in the Persian Gulf, fuelled the British economy with both oil and investment. After the violent overthrow of the Iraqi Hashemites in July 1958 and the sabre rattling of the successor government, the British were once more prepared, albeit reluctantly, to send troops to the Middle East. During this crisis, however, the government of Prime Minister Harold Macmillan had American diplomatic support, only minor resistance from the Soviet Union, and even the grudging acquiescence of the Egyptian ruler. Prior to the Iraqi revolution in July 1958 that brought General Abdul Karim Qasim to power, the Iraqi government had pressed the ruler of Kuwait, Abdulla al Salim al-Sabah, to join the Arab Union, a hurried expedient to unite the Hashemite Kingdoms of Jordan and Iraq, which had been formed in response to the signing on 1 February 1958 of an agreement joining Egypt and Syria into the United Arab Republic. Like Iraq, Britain wanted Kuwaiti participation in the Arab Union. In April 1958 the British Ambassador in Beirut, Sir George Middleton, met with the Kuwaiti ruler to suggest closer relations between Kuwait and the Arab Union. Sheikh al-Sabah refused. Many Kuwaitis were ardent supporters of President Gamal Abdul Nasser. Al-Sabah claimed that the Arab Union was merely an agreement between governments, while the United Arab Republic was a genuine union of peoples.' Baghdad was unwilling to accept a Kuwaiti refusal and attempted to frighten the Kuwaiti ruler into accepting closer ties. Britain had a treaty of protection with Kuwait, signed in 1899, that guaranteed the security of the sheikhdom. Iraqi Foreign Minister Tawfiq Suwaidi, in the spring of 1958, told Sheikh al-Sabah that London now wanted to withdraw British protection in favour of Kuwaiti adherence to the Arab Union. Whitehall denied Suwaidi's assertion. The Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, Sir Bernard Burrows, emphasized that his government had 'no present intention of altering its special treaty relationship with Kuwait'. Burrows also assured the ruler that London had 'at no time negotiated behind his back'.