Skip to main content

The IRGC tried to infiltrate Kuwait. It didn't go as planned

1 min Philippe Naggar

Kuwait has revealed that four Iranian military officers arrested in early May while attempting to enter the country by sea have confessed to belonging to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and being tasked with infiltrating Bubiyan Island, Kuwait's largest island located close to the Iranian coast.

The Foreign Ministry condemned the operation as a "hostile act" and a "flagrant violation" of Kuwaiti sovereignty © Mena Today 

The Foreign Ministry condemned the operation as a "hostile act" and a "flagrant violation" of Kuwaiti sovereignty © Mena Today 

Kuwait has revealed that four Iranian military officers arrested in early May while attempting to enter the country by sea have confessed to belonging to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and being tasked with infiltrating Bubiyan Island, Kuwait's largest island located close to the Iranian coast.

The four men, two naval colonels, a captain and a lieutenant, attempted to reach the island on May 1 aboard a specially chartered fishing boat "to carry out hostile actions against Kuwait," the Interior Ministry said in a statement. 

During a firefight with Kuwaiti forces stationed on the island, one Kuwaiti soldier was wounded and two IRGC members managed to flee.

Kuwait summoned Iran's ambassador Mohammad Toutounji, for the fourth time since Iran began targeting Gulf states allied with the United States following the Israeli-American strike launched on February 28, and handed him a formal letter of protest. 

The Foreign Ministry condemned the operation as a "hostile act" and a "flagrant violation" of Kuwaiti sovereignty, asserting the country's full right to self-defence.

The incident is the latest in a series of Iranian-linked security operations uncovered in Kuwait. Since the war began, Kuwaiti authorities have arrested 24 people for financing "terrorist" entities, six suspects with alleged Hezbollah ties, and now four IRGC officers caught in the act.

Philippe Naggar

Philippe Naggar

Philippe Naggar is a French-Egyptian journalist. Based in Abu Dhabi, he covers news across the Middle East and the Gulf region. He previously lived for several years in Tehran, giving him a solid expertise on Iran

Related

Iran

Trump downplays duration of renewed Iran strikes

President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the renewed U.S. campaign against Iran would not continue for "too long" after the biggest exchange of fire between Tehran and Washington since July.

Iran

Trump team signals post-election escalation possible in Iran war

Top aides to President Donald Trump are pushing to keep the Iran war from escalating before November's midterm elections to staunch Republican electoral losses, four people familiar with the discussions said, a strategy already under strain as the U.S. and Iran exchanged back-and-forth attacks overnight.

Iran

Russia’s role in Iran’s growing war machine

Russia has secretly helped Iran develop advanced supersonic cruise missiles, in what the Financial Times describes as one of the most significant known transfers of strategic military technology from Moscow to Tehran, according to an investigation published Wednesday.

Subscribe to our newsletter

Mena banner 4

To make this website run properly and to improve your experience, we use cookies. For more detailed information, please check our Cookie Policy.

  • Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.