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The Kuwaiti Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Iranian ambassador to the country on Tuesday and handed him a protest note after Kuwait accused Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of being behind a failed attack on a Kuwaiti island earlier this month.<\/p>\n
Six armed men approached the Kuwait’s island of Bubiyan in a fishing boat on behalf of the IRGC on May 1, the Interior Ministry said. Two of them fled during an exchange of fire with security forces. The four other men were arrested.<\/p>\n
The four detainees have admitted being members of the IRGC and acting on its behalf, according to the Kuwaiti state news agency KUNA. The fishing boat had been chartered to carry out \u201chostile acts\u201d against Kuwait, the report said.<\/p>\n
Iran’s Foreign Ministry denied the allegations, according to state media reports. Four IRGC members reportedly strayed into Kuwaiti territorial waters due to a malfunction in their navigation system, the Foreign Ministry stated in a press release.<\/p>\n
Bubiyan, an uninhabited island, lies in northern Kuwait on the border with Iraq and also only a few kilometres from Iran. China is building a large port on the island as part of its Belt and Road initiative. Bubiyan and other islands are to be developed for trade and tourism<\/p>\n
Kuwaiti Deputy Foreign Minister, Ambassador Hamad Suleiman Al-Mishaan, reiterated Kuwait’s strong condemnation of this hostile act, demanding that the Islamic Republic of Iran immediately and unconditionally cease such actions. His ministry handed the protest note to Iranian ambassador to Kuwait Mohammad Tootunji.<\/p>\n
Al-Mishaan held Iran fully responsible for what he called a blatant violation of Kuwait’s sovereignty and a grave breach of international law, the UN Charter and a recent Security Council resolution. Kuwait reserves its full right to self-defence in accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter, he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n