Iran’s president to visit Kuwait
Hassan Rouhani’s visit to Kuwait will be first since election in mid-2014
By Mohamed Abdel-Ghaffar
KUWAIT CITY
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani will visit Kuwait on Wednesday for talks with Emir Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, a Kuwaiti diplomatic official told Anadolu Agency.
Talks between the two leaders are expected to tackle bilateral relations and regional and international developments, the official said Tuesday on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to media.
Rouhani’s visit to the Gulf country is part of a regional tour that will also include Oman, the source added.
Neither Kuwait nor Iran has yet confirmed the visit.
Rouhani’s visit to Kuwait will be his first since he was elected president in mid-2014.
In a landmark visit last month to Tehran last month, Kuwait’s Foreign Minister Sabah al-Khalid al-Sabah delivered a message on the importance of Gulf-Iranian relations.
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states often accuse Iran of meddling in their internal affairs -- claims denied by Tehran.
At a December GCC summit held in Bahrain, the six-nation council tasked Kuwait with establishing contacts with Iran.
The Gulf states fear that Tehran’s nuclear energy program poses a threat to regional security. Tehran, for its part, says its nuclear program is entirely peaceful.
Tension has mounted between the Gulf and Iran since Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic ties with Tehran early last year after two Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran were attacked by protesters following Riyadh’s execution of a prominent Shia cleric.
Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies also accuse Tehran of arming and supporting Yemen’s Shia Houthi group, which overran the capital Sanaa and other parts of the country in 2014. The six-year conflict in Syria has also contributed to the deterioration in Gulf-Iran relations.
