The Iranian Embassy in Kuwait announced that Ambassador Mohammad Toutounchi met four Iranian nationals on Tuesday after coordinating with the ministries of foreign affairs and interior. During the visit, the ambassador was briefed on the detainees’ health and current condition, three months after their arrest in May. The embassy posted the update on X, marking the first confirmed consular access in the case.
Kuwait’s interior ministry reported that the four men, described as affiliated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, were arrested while attempting to infiltrate by sea near Bubiyan Island on May 12. According to Reuters, the ministry’s statement was distributed through the official news agency KUNA. Iranian authorities quickly pushed back against the accusations of a hostile plot.
Iran’s foreign ministry insisted the group had been on a routine maritime patrol and entered Kuwaiti waters only after experiencing a navigation disruption, a position detailed in multiple reports at the time. The ministry demanded prompt access for its diplomats to the detained individuals. Kuwait responded by summoning the Iranian ambassador and issuing a protest note.
An Iranian military official had accused Kuwait days earlier of withholding details on the detainees’ fate, prompting renewed diplomatic activity that led to the ambassador’s meeting. The embassy statement connected the timing of the visit to those latest criticisms from Tehran. Officials on both sides have worked to address the consular matter through established channels.
The incident follows a similar 2016 case in which Kuwait summoned Iran’s ambassador over four of its citizens detained in southwestern Iran. Middle East Monitor reported on Dec. 17, 2016, that the Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry took the step to demand their release. Radio Free Europe similarly covered Kuwait’s request for the men’s freedom from Iranian custody.
