As the Iranian regime continues its destabilizing activities against countries in the region, Kuwait announced the arrest of four members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) who were attempting to enter the country. In Bahrain, a woman was also sentenced to life imprisonment on charges of cooperating with the IRGC.
Kuwait’s Interior Ministry announced in a press statement on Tuesday, May 12, that it had arrested four infiltrators affiliated with the IRGC who were attempting to enter the country by sea.
Kuwait’s Interior Ministry added that during interrogations, the four admitted to being affiliated with the IRGC of the Iranian regime. They had planned to travel aboard a rented fishing boat to Kuwait’s Bubiyan Island, where they intended to carry out sabotage and terrorist operations.
As part of Kuwait’s strong response to the hostile actions of the Iranian regime, the regime’s ambassador to Kuwait was summoned to the Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry on Tuesday, May 12.
During the summons, Mohammad Totonchi, the Iranian regime’s ambassador to Kuwait, received an official protest note from Kuwait’s Foreign Ministry concerning the entry of an armed group of IRGC operatives onto Bubiyan Island and their clash with Kuwaiti armed forces.
According to the Kuwaiti Interior Ministry’s statement, the individuals engaged in a confrontation with Kuwaiti armed forces immediately after entering Kuwaiti territory. During the armed clash, one of the attackers was wounded and two others managed to escape. One Kuwaiti armed forces member was also injured in the exchange of fire.
The incident had taken place on May 3, but Kuwait’s Interior Ministry announced it only after the investigation and interrogations were completed and the detainees confessed to their ties with the IRGC.
In the press statement issued by Kuwait’s Interior Ministry, the detainees were identified as Navy Colonel Amirhossein Abdolmohammad Zaraei, Navy Colonel Abdolsamad Yadollah Ghanavati, Navy Captain Ahmad Jamshid Gholamreza Zolfaghari, and First Lieutenant Mohammad Hossein Sohrab Foroughi Rad. However, two others identified as Mansour Ghanbari and Abdolali Kazem Siamari, described as the boat’s leader, managed to escape.
Kuwait’s Interior Ministry also stated, based on the suspects’ confessions, that their mission began on Friday, May 1, under orders from IRGC commanders, with the objective of infiltrating Bubiyan Island in Kuwait and carrying out sabotage and terrorist acts.
Following the incident, the Kuwaiti government strongly condemned the Iranian regime’s actions in entering Kuwaiti territory and carrying out sabotage and terrorist activities.
In the statement, the Kuwaiti government called on the Iranian regime to immediately stop such hostile actions, which undermine regional stability and security and damage regional and international efforts aimed at reducing tensions.
In this regard, Kuwait’s Foreign Ministry stressed that the Iranian regime bears full responsibility for these hostile acts and that Kuwait reserves its full and inherent right to self-defense under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, as well as the right to take any measures it deems appropriate under international law to defend its sovereignty and protect its citizens and residents within its territory.
Meanwhile, Bahrain’s criminal court sentenced a woman to life imprisonment on charges of cooperating with the IRGC of the Iranian regime, sending sensitive information about Bahrain’s security and civilian facilities, and carrying out hostile acts against the country. The investigation and interrogation process, which dates back to March, showed that the defendant, Bodour Abdulhamid Ali, had direct contact with IRGC operatives and was involved in transmitting coordinates and images of facilities described as important and strategic within Bahrain through encrypted messages.
Over the past two months, multiple reports have emerged regarding the arrest of individuals and groups linked to the IRGC in Persian Gulf countries. The primary focus of these actions has been in the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Kuwait. In the UAE, security measures have been intensified, and in addition to the arrest of numerous suspects accused of cooperating with the IRGC, a significant number of workers employed in the country, mainly Pakistani Shiites, have been deported for various reasons.
The Iranian regime’s missile and drone attacks over the past two months against Persian Gulf countries, particularly the UAE, Kuwait, and Bahrain, have led these countries to impose strict security measures within their territories and to implement severe security actions against anyone suspected, even minimally, of cooperating with the Iranian regime.
