Iran Calls Kuwait’s IRGC Infiltration Claims 'Baseless'

(MENAFN) Iran flatly rejected Kuwait's allegations on Tuesday that members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had attempted to infiltrate Kuwaiti territory, dismissing the accusations as "baseless" and demanding the immediate release of four detained Iranian nationals.

Tehran Pushes Back Hard
In an official statement, Iran's Foreign Ministry repudiated charges leveled by Kuwait's foreign and interior ministries, which alleged that Tehran had orchestrated hostile operations against the Gulf state. Iran went further, condemning what it characterized as Kuwait's "improper political and propaganda exploitation" of the incident involving the four Iranian personnel.

Tehran offered an alternative account of events, asserting that the four individuals had been conducting a routine maritime patrol when a malfunction in their navigational equipment caused them to inadvertently drift into Kuwaiti waters. Iran reaffirmed its stated commitment to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all regional neighbors — including Kuwait — and called on Kuwaiti authorities to refrain from "hasty statements and unfounded claims," urging both sides to resolve the matter through established diplomatic channels.

The Foreign Ministry further demanded that Iranian embassy officials in Kuwait be granted access to the detained men "as soon as possible" in accordance with international law.

Kuwait Tells a Starkly Different Story
Kuwait's Interior Ministry offered a sharply contradictory version of events earlier on Tuesday. According to a state news agency, four individuals affiliated with the IRGC were apprehended while attempting to enter the country by sea. During questioning, the suspects allegedly acknowledged their membership in the IRGC and admitted they had been assigned to infiltrate Bubiyan Island aboard a hired fishing vessel with orders to carry out "hostile acts against Kuwait." The Ministry also confirmed that a Kuwaiti security officer sustained injuries during the confrontation with the infiltrators.

In a formal diplomatic escalation, Kuwait summoned Iranian Ambassador Mohammad Totonji and presented him with an official protest note condemning what it termed an "armed infiltration" by IRGC operatives.

Incident Unfolds Against Volatile Regional Backdrop
The confrontation emerges amid a broader deterioration of regional security. U.S. and Israeli forces launched coordinated strikes against Iran on February 28, igniting a chain of retaliatory attacks by Tehran targeting Israel and U.S. allies across the Gulf, while simultaneously triggering the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

A Pakistani-brokered ceasefire entered into force on April 8, but subsequent negotiations in Islamabad failed to yield a binding, permanent agreement. U.S. President Donald Trump subsequently extended the truce without setting a firm expiration date, leaving the region in a state of precarious and open-ended uncertainty.

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