Freed Kuwaitis return home from Iran
Four Kuwaitis arrested several days ago in Iran’s southwestern region of Ahvaz returned to Kuwait yesterday. The four were released on Monday and handed over to the Kuwaiti Embassy in Tehran. They were welcomed yesterday at Kuwait airport by family and friends, along with senior officials.
Assistant Foreign Minister for Consular Affairs Sami Al-Hamad congratulated the government and citizens over the release of the four men. He said the foreign ministry, on the instructions of Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabah and Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Al-Jarallah, made direct contacts with the Iranian authorities for the speedy release of the Kuwaitis. He lauded the efforts exerted by all sides, particularly praising the major role played by Kuwaiti diplomats in Iran.
Kuwait had summoned the Iranian ambassador on Friday and demanded the release of the men. Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Rai had reported the four were on a fishing trip when they strayed into Iranian waters and were detained on Friday. Kuwait recalled its ambassador from Tehran in January after relations were broken off between Saudi Arabia and Iran following attacks on the kingdom’s missions. A Kuwaiti and an Iranian were sentenced to death in January by a court in Kuwait for spying for Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah group. — Agencies