Kuwaiti forces arrested four attackers linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as they attempted to infiltrate the country's largest island, state media has reported.
The Ministry of Interior said the four suspects confessed to belonging to the IRGC and to infiltrating Bubiyan Island aboard a rented fishing boat to carry out “hostile acts” against Kuwait, the official Kuna news agency said.
The four were arrested on May 3, and two others escaped. One member of the Kuwaiti security forces was wounded in the confrontation.
The ministry said it was co-ordinating with security agencies and the armed forces to confront threats to Kuwait's stability. It added that legal action was being taken against those arrested.
Kuwait, which houses several US military bases and installations, was hard-hit by Iranian attacks on the Gulf, launched in response to US and Israeli strikes on Iran in February.
Kuwait said it had dealt with 845 drones, 354 ballistic missiles and 15 cruise missiles coming from Iran during the Middle East war before a ceasefire between Iran and the US and Israel came into effect on April 8.
Last month, Kuwait’s army said that two drones launched from Iraq targeted military border posts in the country’s north, causing material damage but no casualties. The attack, which was blamed on Iran-aligned militia groups based in Iraq, was condemned by several Arab countries. A similar incident happened in March and was claimed by an Iraq-based militia backed by Iran.
The island is Kuwait's largest and is located near the Iranian coast. It was not immediately clear if the assailants were coming from Iran.
Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, condemned" in the strongest terms" the infiltration by members of the IRGC. In a statement, he "expressed the UAE’s solidarity with the State of Kuwait and its full support for all measures taken by its security authorities to counter these terrorist actions".
Sheikh Abdullah also commended the "efficiency and vigilance of the Kuwaiti security authorities in successfully uncovering this terrorist plot". He reiterated the UAE’s "categorical rejection of all forms of terrorism", and emphasised "the importance of strengthening regional and international cooperation to counter such threats".
He concluded by reaffirming that the security of the State of Kuwait is an integral part of the security of the UAE and the Arab Gulf states.
