Cairo: Signs of diplomatic tensions have surfaced between Iran and Kuwait after the latter hosted an Iranian opposition conference, Saudi newspaper Asharq Al Awsat reported Sunday.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry summoned Kuwait’s charge d’ affaires on Saturday to strongly protest a recent meeting between Kuwaiti officials and a representative of a separatist Iranian group, Iran’s Mehr News agency reported.
Iran regarded the moves as a “blatant interference” in its internal affairs and a “clear violation” of good ties between the two neighbours, Mehr said.
An Iranian opposition website has recently carried a photo showing head of Kuwaiti parliament Marzouq Al Ghanem handing the assembly’s commemorative shield to a member of the self-styled Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahvaz, an Arab group seeking separation from Iran.
The meeting was reportedly held on the sidelines of a pro-Ahvaz conference held in Kuwait, according to Asharq Al Awsat.
Kuwaiti lawmaker Abdullah Fahad, who attended the meeting, said that talks of the representative’s group with Al Ghanem had focused on an MA thesis being prepared by the Iranian Arab separatist on democracy in Kuwait.
“The meeting did not deal with any other issue at all,” the Kuwait MP said.
So far, there has been no official Kuwaiti comment on the Iranian protest.
Ties between Kuwait and Iran soured in July 2017 when Kuwait downgraded Iranian diplomatic representation on its territory after Kuwaiti authorities accused Tehran of involvement in supporting a terror group linked to Iran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah movement.
