Iran Seeks To Restore Kuwait Ties To Full Capacity

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has called for the return of Tehran-Kuwait relations to "their true capacities" by having more reciprocal visits and meetings. 

Raisi made the remarks in a phone call with the emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah on Tuesday night. 

Increasing the reciprocal visits can help enhance the level of bilateral cooperation, making use of the existing capacities at more operational levels, he told Kuwait’s emir.

Raisi described Kuwait’s stances on regional “conspiracies” as “wise”, expressing hope that the two neighbors can elevate their ties. Islamic Republic officials use the term ‘conspiracy’ to describe the influence of the United States and Israel.

The two countries are in a row over the Arash/al-Durra natural gas reserves in the Persian Gulf near the demarcation line of their territorial waters, with Kuwait saying the disputed gas field is “exclusively owned” to the small coastal nation and its neighbor Saudi Arabia.

Iran “is not part of the gas field” and is not a party to development projects related to it, Foreign Minister Sheikh Ahmad Nasser al-Mohammad al-Sabah said in March.

The head of Iran-Kuwait Joint Chamber of Commerce in Tehran said late in 2021 that Kuwait has stopped issuing visas for Iranian businesspeople.

Hani Feysali added trade ties between the two countries have dropped drastically, duo to Iran’s weak diplomacy, saying bilateral trade has been recording a downward trend in recent years as its total volume fell from $400 million in 2020 to $18 million last year.

During the fifth US-Kuwait Strategic Dialogue in Washington, DC in January, US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and Foreign Minister al-Sabah warned of threats posed by Iran to the stability of the region, reaffirming a shared commitment to promoting security and peace.