The ruling by the State Security Court found the defendants guilty of establishing a cell that conducted surveillance on senior officials and coordinated with foreign handlers to advance the assassination plot, according to the verdict. Prosecutors presented evidence including communications and training records that linked the activities directly to Hezbollah operatives and Iranian interests, a judicial assessment found. The court determined the actions constituted a direct threat to national leadership and warranted the maximum penalty under state security laws.
Kuwait’s Interior Ministry first disclosed the broader network in a statement released on March 26, 2026, detailing how state security forces had thwarted plans to target state symbols through arrests and ongoing pursuits. The ministry’s spokesman Brigadier Nasser Abusulaib reported that six suspects were detained inside the country while 14 others, including Iranians and Lebanese nationals, were identified as fugitives abroad. Abusulaib added that those in custody had admitted to receiving specialized training in assassination methods, explosives and surveillance from the banned organization.
A related July 2026 ruling by the same State Security Court of Appeals imposed a life prison term on another Kuwaiti after overturning an earlier 10-year sentence for similar charges of cooperating with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps and Hezbollah. Court documents from that case described repeated travel to the Iranian city of Qom for instruction in firearms and drone operations intended to harm Kuwaiti sovereignty. The pattern of cases reflects sustained efforts by authorities to counter external interference in domestic affairs.
The death sentences handed down this week follow Kuwait’s designation of Hezbollah as a terrorist entity in 2016 alongside other Gulf Cooperation Council members, a step taken after earlier espionage convictions that also resulted in capital punishment. The Interior Ministry has described involvement in such networks as treasonous acts that violate obligations of loyalty to the state. Investigations continue to trace financial and logistical support channels that sustained the cell’s operations.
Public prosecution teams built the case through months of monitoring that uncovered detailed plans targeting the interior minister among other figures, according to records released with the sentencing. Under Kuwaiti legal procedures, the capital convictions will undergo mandatory review by higher courts before any implementation. Officials emphasized that the verdicts underscore the country’s firm position against activities compromising internal stability.
The Interior Ministry’s March 2026 announcement noted that several suspects had their citizenship revoked as part of measures to dismantle the network and deter future recruitment. Confessions obtained during the probe revealed willingness to execute assigned missions aimed at destabilizing key institutions, the ministry stated. Security agencies maintain active operations to apprehend remaining individuals linked to the plot wherever they may be located.
