Kuwait Summons Iranian Ambassador Regarding 'Detention of Four of Its Citizens'

On Friday, the French news agency reported from Kuwait that the country's Foreign Ministry summoned the Iranian ambassador in Kuwait regarding the 'detention of four Kuwaiti nationals in southwestern Iran' and demanded their release. In a statement from the Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry, which was reflected in the official news agency KUNA, it was emphasized that these individuals were detained near Ahvaz, in Khuzestan province, and Kuwait is closely following this issue with Iranian officials, seeking guarantees for their release. The French news agency quoted Kuwaiti diplomats stating that Kuwait, in a note submitted to the Iranian ambassador in Kuwait, requested a meeting with the detainees and their release. The statement from the Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry also emphasized that the Kuwaiti embassy in Tehran is in contact with Iranian officials to follow up on the reasons for the detention of these four citizens. It is unclear when these individuals were detained, and the Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry's statement remained silent on this matter. Meanwhile, official Iranian authorities and media have not yet reported or reacted to the detention of Kuwaiti citizens in Ahvaz. Kuwait, which generally has better relations with Iran compared to other Gulf countries, recalled its ambassador from Tehran last December following the severance of relations between Saudi Arabia and some of its allies with Iran. However, shortly after, the Iranian ambassador in Kuwait stated that the level of relations between the two countries had not changed and that the issue of reducing relations was not on the agenda. In recent years, several Iranian nationals, mostly Iranian fishermen, have been detained in Kuwait's territorial waters, with some being returned to Iran through communications between the two countries. Kuwait has also attributed some security-related actions to Iran or groups supported by the Islamic Republic, including Hezbollah in Lebanon. For instance, last December, two individuals, including an Iranian citizen, were sentenced to death in absentia for 'espionage for the Islamic Republic' and 'planning an attack in Kuwait.' In September of last year, 24 individuals were accused of espionage for Iran and Hezbollah, although it was stated at that time that all but one of the accused were Kuwaiti citizens. In August 2015, Kuwaiti newspapers reported the discovery of a large arms shipment in the country that was claimed to have been smuggled from Iran, after which a Kuwaiti parliament member leading the Foreign Relations Committee described Iran as the 'real enemy' of Sunni Arab countries in the Gulf region. Additionally, in June of this year, the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Qabas reported that Kuwait had repatriated 47 Iranian prisoners in the country to Iran as part of a bilateral agreement to serve the remainder of their sentences. There is currently no data on the number of Iranian prisoners in Kuwait, but in November 2014, the Iranian ambassador in Kuwait stated in an interview that there were over 190 Iranians in Kuwait's central prison, and in addition, 30 other Iranians were detained in public prisons and detention centers in the country.