Kuwait’s emir, the 86-year-old Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah, has died, state television reported on Saturday.

Kuwait TV broke into programming with Quranic verses just before making the announcement.

In late November, Sheikh Nawaf was rushed to hospital for an unspecified illness.

In the time since, the tiny, oil-rich nation had been waiting for news about his health.

State-run news previously reported that he traveled to the United States for unspecified medical checks in March 2021.

Sheikh Nawaf was sworn in as emir following the 2020 death of his predecessor, the late Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah.

Sheikh Meshal Al Ahmad Al Jaber, now 83, is believed to be the world’s oldest crown prince.

He is in line to take over as Kuwait’s ruler.

Kuwait is a nation home to some 4.2 million people and has the world’s sixth-largest known oil reserves.