In a post on his X account on Wednesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said that Kuwait’s attack on the small Iranian boat and the arrest of the Iranian citizens on board it were illegal.
He said the move was also meant to sow discord in a region already on edge because of the US-Israeli aggression on Iran and Tehran’s retaliatory attacks on US military assets in regional countries, including Kuwait.
The Iranian minister said Kuwait carried out the attack near an island in the Persian Gulf where the US has stationed its military personnel and equipment to launch attacks on Iran.
“In a clear attempt to sow discord, Kuwait has unlawfully attacked an Iranian boat and detained 4 of our citizens in the Persian Gulf. This illegal act took place near an island used by the US to attack Iran,” he said in the post.
Kuwaiti territory has served as a major platform for US attacks on Iran during the aggression that began in late February and stopped with a ceasefire in early April.
Iran responded to the attacks by targeting US bases in Kuwait from the very beginning of the war of aggression, inflicting major losses, including fatalities, on US forces stationed in the Arab country.
Iran has recommended that Kuwait expel US forces from its territory if it wants to be spared from future Iranian reprisal attacks.
In his X post, Araqchi said Iran reserves the right to respond to Kuwait’s attack on the Iranian boat as he demanded the immediate release of the four Iranian nationals detained during the incident.