Kuwait’s emir, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, suspended his country’s parliament for a month starting June 18 to offset a combative Islamist-dominated opposition . . . this was Kuwait’s fourth parliament in under six years . . . the suspension allows the Emir to arrange for further talks with the opposition instead of completely dissolving parliament . . . opposition lawmakers refused to compromise over the number of cabinet ministries they would receive, demanding nine out of 16 instead of the four they were offered . . . to pressure the government, the opposition has been systematically questioning cabinet ministers over the past months, slowing government affairs to a near standstill . . . the gridlock between Parliament and cabinet forced Sheik Sabah to resolve the crisis with the suspension . . . a dissolution of Parliament could severely impact Kuwait’s vast oil industry and could further strain ties between Kuwait and the United States.