KUWAIT CITY: Kuwait announced Thursday it is to expel a number of Iranian diplomats for alleged spying, in a fresh blow for Arab-Persian ties across the Gulf. Bahrain, a fellow Gulf state and scene of protests, has accused Iran of meddling in its affairs and elements of the Bahraini opposition of links with Tehran. The unrest and charges of Iranian ties have raised concerns in the Gulf, which sent a joint military force to Bahrain where security forces crushed an anti-regime protest movement on March 16. Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Mohammed Al-Sabah told reporters that Kuwait is to expel an unspecified number of Iranian diplomats for alleged links to a spy ring working for Tehran, reportedly ever since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. “There will be action against a group of Iranian diplomats ... They will be considered persona non grata and expelled from Kuwait,” he said. The foreign minister charged that the diplomats had proven links to the suspected spy ring, three members of which a Kuwaiti court condemned to death on Tuesday. The three men condemned to death – two Iranians and a Kuwaiti national – were all serving in Kuwait's army when they were arrested in May 2010. Iran at the time also strongly denied any involvement. The ruling “showed a conspiracy was being hatched against Kuwaiti political, economic and military security,” by Iran, the foreign minister said. Sheikh Mohammed said Iran's charge d'affaires at its embassy in Kuwait City was summoned and handed an official protest at the Foreign Ministry. Meanwhile, the ruler of Kuwait issued a decree accepting the resignation of the cabinet which quit earlier in the day. The decree, cited by the official news agency KUNA, asked Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah and other ministers to continue as a caretaker government until a new cabinet is appointed. The state-run agency said the Kuwaiti cabinet resigned because of “recent local developments” and the “negative aftershocks on the country's national unity, security and stability.” The resignation appeared to be an attempt by three cabinet ministers to avoid being questioned over why Kuwait did not contribute troops to the GCC forces sent to Bahrain. Cabinet resignations are relatively common in Kuwait, a key OPEC member. In recent months, opposition lawmakers have stepped up demands to bring top officials into the chamber for questioning.
