Iran has summoned Kuwait's envoy to Tehran to protest what it called “an anti-Iran meeting” held by the oil-rich Persian Gulf nation’s officials.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry on December 28 did not say what “separatist group” that Kuwaiti officials allegedly met with, but the ministry’s head of Gulf affairs condemned the meeting in his discussion with Kuwait's charge d'affaires.
“These types of actions are a clear interference in the internal affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran and a violation of the principle of good neighborly relations and friendly statements from Kuwaiti officials," the Kuwaiti envoy was told, according to the Iranian Foreign Ministry statement.
Iran’s state Press TV reported that the speaker of the Kuwaiti National Assembly, Marzouq al-Ghanim, has met with a member of the Al-Ahwaziya “terrorist group” on the sidelines of a conference that allegedly called for the breakaway of the southwestern Iranian city of Ahvaz from the country.
Neighboring Iran and Kuwait have relatively good relations despite Tehran’s long-standing tensions with other Gulf Arab states, although it has participated in some U.S.-led sanctions actions against Iran.
Kuwait, which has close ties to Washington, cut back its diplomatic presence in Tehran in 2016 after Saudi Arabia broke off relations with Iran, but it has kept a charge d'affaires and two officials there.