Kuwait Accuses 24 Individuals of Espionage for Iran and Hezbollah

Kuwait has accused 24 individuals, including one Iranian, of conspiring for terrorist attacks in the country in connection with Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon. The Kuwaiti Public Prosecution announced in a statement released on Tuesday, September 10, that all defendants except one are Kuwaiti citizens, and three of them have been charged in absentia. According to Agence France-Presse, the Kuwaiti Public Prosecution has accused these individuals of 'espionage for the Islamic Republic of Iran and Hezbollah with the intent of committing hostile acts against the State of Kuwait by smuggling explosives into the country and preparing them, as well as weapons and ammunition.' The individuals are also charged with 'engaging in acts that undermine the unity and territorial integrity of Kuwait' and possessing eavesdropping tools. Two other men have been accused of illegal possession of weapons, and another for failing to inform authorities about these weapons. The Kuwaiti Public Prosecution added that these two men were linked to a 'terrorist network' that the Kuwaiti Ministry of Interior reported discovering and dismantling last month, seizing a large quantity of weapons, ammunition, and explosives. Two Kuwaiti newspapers reported on August 16 that a large weapons shipment was discovered in a house near the Iraq border, and three men who owned it were arrested, stating that this shipment was smuggled to supply a cell affiliated with Hezbollah in Kuwait. The Kuwaiti Public Prosecution stated on Tuesday that 22 of the accused had been trained in the use of explosives and weapons. In this statement, several of the accused were charged with membership in Hezbollah 'whose aim is to destroy the social and economic foundations of Kuwait.' On September 7, following an explosion in Manama, the capital of Bahrain, which resulted in one death, the head of the Foreign Relations Committee of the Kuwaiti Parliament accused Iran of being involved in that explosion and described it as the 'real enemy' of Sunni Arab countries in the Gulf region. Iran has not yet responded to the Kuwaiti Public Prosecution's statement but has repeatedly called Bahrain's accusations 'baseless.' Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's Foreign Minister, who visited Kuwait on July 25 during his regional tour, accused Bahrain of making 'baseless claims' aimed at preventing the advancement of cooperation between Iran and Gulf countries. Bahrain also strongly protested against Ayatollah Khamenei's remarks that Iran would continue to support the 'oppressed' in the region, including in Bahrain, despite the nuclear agreement.