Almost all of Iran’s diplomats in Kuwait to be expelled following terror ruling
Kuwait has shut down Iran's cultural and other missions in the country and ordered the expulsion of almost all Iranian diplomats after the Kuwaiti supreme court reaffirmed the conviction of the members of a terror cell that spied for Tehran, smuggled explosives and was preparing to carry out terrorist attacks. The members of the cell are said to have acted as operatives for Hizballah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The mastermind of the cell, which was broken up in August 2015, has been sentenced to life in prison. However, Kuwait's Interior Ministry said Wednesday that 16 out of the 26 cell members are on the run. On Monday, a Kuwaiti newspaper claimed that 14 have fled by boat to Iran.
The Iranian ambassador, Alireza Enayati, was summoned to the Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry where he was told that the military and cultural missions had been closed, and that 15 out of the 19 Iranian diplomats in Kuwait are being expelled, according to Iran's state-run television. Enayati himself was given 48 days to leave the country, Iran's ISNA news agency said.