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Tue, April 12, 2011 | ISNA

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman, Ramin Mehmanparast. (Photo: ISNA/Mona Hoobehfekr)

Iran: Kuwait’s Allegations of Espionage Serve Zionists’ Interests

Iran rejected Kuwait’s recent allegations saying that the “baseless claims” only serve Zionist regime’s interests, Iranian Student News Agency (ISNA) reported on Tuesday.

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast speaking in his weekly press conference on Tuesday referred to allegations of espionage against Iranian officials by Kuwait and said, “reviving an old issue and baseless claims only serve interests of Zionist regime and its sponsors and is in line with sowing discord among Islamic regional nations.”

His remarks came after Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammad Sabah al-Salim al-Sabah said that he had not expected Iran to expel its diplomats. An Iranian Foreign Ministry official had already confirmed deportation of several Kuwaiti diplomats.

The measure came in response to a similar measure already taken by Kuwait. On April 2, Kuwait expelled three Iranian diplomats of the Iranian Embassy in Kuwait City, claiming that they had links to a spy network.

A Kuwaiti newspaper previously claimed that three other men, two Iranians and a Kuwaiti individual have carried out espionage activities in the neighboring country. Iran denies allegations on conducting any acts of espionage against Kuwait. Ali Akbar Salehi, Iran’s Foreign Minister, said over the weekend that the espionage charges were “fake.”

Mehmanparast said the allegations against Iran had been already raised in Kuwait some two years ago and a Kuwaiti court made accusations against Iran.

“We showed serious reaction to the issue and Kuwaiti officials rejected the claims,” Mehmanparast added.

Mehmanparast also reiterated that Iran’s foreign policy seeks convergence with regional nations.

In a statement on Sunday, April 3, 2011, the Gulf Cooperation Council (consisting of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates) condemned Iran for its “blatant interference in the affairs of the State of Kuwait by planting spy networks on its territories to harm the security, stability and the interests of its citizens.”

The GCC also emphasized its “support … for all actions taken by the State of Kuwait for the protection of its national security, on the basis of the principle of the interdependence of the collective security of the GCC countries.”