Gulf | Kuwait

Kuwait to expel three Iranian diplomats involved in spy ring

Kuwait will expel three Iranian diplomats whose names were mentioned in a court verdict this week about a spy ring busted last year, the Kuwaiti foreign minister has said.

By Habib Toumi, Bureau Chief
Published: 17:09 March 31, 2011

Image Credit: AFP
Shaikh Mohammad Al Sabah

Manama: Kuwait will expel three Iranian diplomats whose names were included in a court verdict this week about a spy ring busted last year, the Kuwaiti foreign minister has said.

"The court ruling on Tuesday revealed the extent of the anti-Kuwait political, economic and military plots by the spy ring," Shaikh Mohammad Al Sabah, the foreign minister, told Kuwaiti daily Al Qabas.

"The court has also revealed the direct link between the ring and the Revolutionary Guards in Iran."

The criminal court sentenced to death two Iranians and a Kuwaiti national for being part of an Iranian spy network.

A Syrian and a stateless Arab resident were handed life terms while two Iranians, a man and the only woman, were acquitted.

"We have recalled our ambassador in Tehran, Majdi Al Dhufairi, for consultations, and we will summon the Iranian charge d'affaires in Kuwait Mohammad Al Shihabi to convey Kuwait's protest," Shaikh Mohammad said.

"We will not tolerate in any way any threat to the security of Kuwait and as government and parliament members who swore to preserve this security, we are all concerned. I hope there will be no deliberate mixing up of matters because we all need to act responsibly towards the security of Kuwait," he said.

The minister added that the court verdict has refuted reports claiming that existence of the Iranian spy ring was a baseless allegation. A crisis cell has been set up at the foreign ministry to deal with this "dangerous situation", he added.

"It is now obvious that the issue is not just a rumour or a false claim, but fact," he said. "We now need to focus on confronting seditions and on protecting Kuwait's security and stability."

According to Shaikh Mohammad, Kuwait has always been positive in its relations with Iran.

"We never did anything to harm our relations with Iran, our neighbour. However, this has not been reciprocated and we see that the Revolutionary Guards have set up this ring to target the security of Kuwait.

"We do hope that our friends in Iran realise the dangerous extent of this issue. We will not confine ourselves to condemnations and, as the foreign ministry, we will summon the Iranian charge d'affaires and convey to him Kuwait's feelings for what happened. We will also expel all diplomats implicated or suspected of any role in the operations," he said.

Shaikh Mohammad also said he would discuss the developments with his Iranian counterpart.