A senior lawmaker said the recent diplomatic spat with Kuwait over the claim that Tehran has assisted a “terrorist cell” operating in the Arab country was provoked by Saudi Arabia.
Hossein Naqavi Hosseini, the spokesman of Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, made the statement in a talk with ICANA on Saturday.
“Saudi Arabia, since the political crisis with Qatar, has been pressuring Kuwait to downgrade relations with Tehran. Saudis, sticking with the old strategy [of spreading] Iranophobia, are trying to portray a tarnished image of Tehran and dissuade regional countries from engaging with Tehran,” he said.
Kuwait on Thursday announced the closure of Iranian cultural and military missions and the expulsion of 15 out of 19 Iranian diplomats stationed in the country for alleged links to a “spy and terror” cell.
The move was unusual for Kuwait, which has traditionally maintained cordial relations with Tehran.
Saudi Arabia, which cut ties with Tehran early 2016, said on Thursday it “fully supports” the anti-Iran measure.
Iran has denied any contact with the alleged terrorist cell and its Foreign Ministry summoned Kuwaiti charge d’affaires in Tehran on Thursday to protest the move.
