Iran's Foreign Ministry Summons Kuwaiti Chargé d'Affaires in Protest of Meeting on Ahvaz

On Monday, May 8, the Iranian Foreign Ministry summoned the Chargé d'Affaires of the Kuwaiti Embassy in Tehran to express its protest against what it termed a "meeting of several anti-revolutionary elements linked to foreign powers" in Kuwait. According to the IRNA news agency, during the meeting with the Kuwaiti diplomat, Iranian officials stated that "hosting such a gathering in Kuwait is a clear violation of recognized international principles and norms and contrary to good neighborliness," and called for the Iranian government's protest to be conveyed to the Kuwaiti government. The Iranian Foreign Ministry referred to a meeting attended by some Arab activists from Khuzestan province and politicians and legal experts from several Arab countries. This meeting, titled "Ahwaz Arabs in Arab Kuwait," aimed to "introduce the Ahvaz issue" to the Arab world and shed light on what they described as "the suppression of the local population with the aim of erasing their Arab identity by the Iranian regime." The Al-Ikhbariya website, affiliated with the official Saudi television, reported that the Kuwait meeting was held to establish a "Gulf-Arab" program to support the "Ahvaz issue" and counter "Iran's influence in the region." The Tasnim news agency reported that the reason for summoning the Kuwaiti Chargé d'Affaires was due to the Saudi regime's continued hostile actions against the Islamic Republic of Iran and efforts to prevent the return of security and stability to the region in line with the dangerous policies of the United States and the Zionist regime, stating that a divisive meeting was held in Kuwait with the participation of 300 mercenary figures affiliated with Saudi Arabia from various Arab countries. Kuwait had previously summoned its ambassador from Tehran on January 5 in protest against attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran. Relations between Iran and several Arab countries, including those in the Persian Gulf, have soured since that attack. Arab countries, including the Arab League and the Gulf Cooperation Council, have condemned what they termed Iranian interference in their countries in recent meetings, and placed several groups affiliated with Tehran, including Hezbollah Lebanon, on their list of terrorist organizations. Following the attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran, several Arab countries severed or downgraded their diplomatic relations with Iran. In this context, Kuwait recalled its ambassador from Iran, sentenced an Iranian citizen to death in absentia, labeled Hezbollah Lebanon as a terrorist organization, and expelled 14 Lebanese and Iraqis suspected of ties to Hezbollah. Bahrain stated that Gulf countries are serious about countering Iran. The Islamic Republic is facing diplomatic setbacks in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the United States has made proposals to Arab countries to counter Iranian activities. There is an agreement between the U.S. and Saudi allies to prevent Iranian ships from entering Yemen.