Kuwait summons Iranian ambassador over embassy response to death sentence

Kuwait summoned Iran's ambassador on Wednesday, October 28, and handed him a diplomatic protest over an embassy statement challenging allegations against an Iranian citizen, Kuwait Times and Qatar News Agency reported. The Foreign Ministry accused the mission of intruding into Kuwait's domestic affairs and compromising judicial independence.

The protest followed death sentences imposed on three defendants on Monday in a case involving alleged spying for Iran, Hezbollah connections and a plan to kill senior Kuwaiti officials, according to The National and Middle East Monitor.

Iran's embassy rejected the accusations against an Iranian citizen, denying his involvement in an assassination scheme and saying he had been outside Kuwait for a decade, the two outlets reported.

Deputy Foreign Minister Hamad Al Mashaan delivered Kuwait's objection to attempts to intervene in decisions by its courts, according to Kuwait Times and The National. The ministry said the embassy's statement infringed Kuwait's sovereignty.

Kuwait called on Iran to observe international law and the United Nations Charter and refrain from intervening in another country's domestic matters. Its protest also cited neighbourly relations and the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, adopted in 1961, Kuwait Times and Qatar News Agency reported.

The alleged targets included Sheikh Fahad Yousef Saud Al Sabah, Kuwait's first deputy prime minister and interior minister, according to The National and Middle East Monitor. Eight other defendants were given prison terms of five years.

The National identified the sentencing tribunal as the Kuwaiti Criminal Court and said the prison terms involved hard labour. It reported that the death sentences could still be appealed.

According to The National, the court described an operation directed by a foreign entity to kill the official overseeing internal security as an act of hostility towards Kuwait.

Middle East Monitor, citing Lebanon's Al Mayadeen television, named one of the defendants facing execution as Iranian national Abdulreza Haidar Dehqani. The outlet said Kuwaiti authorities had not released names and nationalities for all 11 defendants.