Kuwait Says Detained Men Confessed to Belonging to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards
Tehran denies infiltration allegations after armed confrontation on Bubiyan Island leaves Kuwaiti serviceman wounded
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — Kuwait said Tuesday that four men arrested earlier this month while attempting to enter the country by sea confessed to being members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, escalating tensions between the two neighboring states amid the wider regional conflict.
In a statement carried by Kuwait’s state news agency Kuna, the Interior Ministry said the four detainees — identified as two navy colonels, a captain, and a lieutenant commander — admitted they had been tasked by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards with “infiltrating” Bubiyan Island.
The ministry said the group attempted to enter the island on May 1 aboard “a fishing boat specially chartered to carry out hostile actions against Kuwait.”
According to Kuwaiti authorities, a confrontation erupted between the suspects and Kuwaiti forces stationed on the island, leaving one Kuwaiti serviceman wounded. The statement added that two other Revolutionary Guard members managed to flee during the exchange of fire.
Bubiyan Island, Kuwait’s largest island, lies near the Iranian coast and holds strategic importance due to its location in the northern Gulf.
Iran swiftly rejected Kuwait’s accusations. In a statement, Iran’s foreign ministry described the allegations as “absolutely baseless,” insisting the four officers had entered Kuwaiti waters accidentally because of “disruption in the navigation system.”
Tehran also accused Kuwait of “politically and propagandistically exploiting the case” and called for Iranian embassy officials to be granted immediate consular access to the detained officers.
The diplomatic dispute intensified after Kuwait’s Foreign Ministry summoned Iranian Ambassador Mohammad Toutounji and handed him an official protest note over what it described as the infiltration of “an armed group belonging to the Revolutionary Guards.”
Kuwait condemned the incident as a “hostile act” and a “flagrant attack” on the country’s sovereignty, adding that it reserved “the right to self-defense.”
The latest summons marks the fourth time Kuwait has called in the Iranian ambassador since the outbreak of the wider Middle East conflict and Iran’s retaliatory operations against Gulf countries earlier this year.
Since the regional war began, Kuwaiti authorities have intensified security measures and widened crackdowns on individuals and networks allegedly linked to Iran.
In mid-April, Kuwait announced the arrest of 24 people accused of financing “terrorist” entities, according to the Interior Ministry. A security source later said five former lawmakers were among those detained.