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Kuwait has summoned Iranian ambassador Mohammad Toutounji following Iran’s denial of involvement by an Iranian citizen in a plot to assassinate Deputy Prime Minister Fahad al-Yousef. The Kuwaiti government condemned three Shia men to death, including Abdulredha Haydar Dahqani, for their roles in the alleged assassination plot.
Kuwait’s judicial sources confirmed that the death sentences were handed down earlier this week following trials in absentia for three individuals, including Abdulredha Haydar Dahqani and Hussein Abdallah al-Maatouq. Dahqani, who has been sentenced previously in 2016, was convicted alongside 25 Kuwaitis for spying for Iran and plotting attacks.
Kuwait’s government has categorically condemned Iran’s statements regarding the involvement of an Iranian citizen in an assassination plot, leading to the summoning of Iranian ambassador Mohammad Toutounji, who was informed that the remarks were an infringement on Kuwaiti sovereignty. Moving forward, Kuwait is likely to maintain its stance on judicial independence while closely monitoring any further statements from Iran that may affect bilateral relations.
What remains unclear — It is uncertain whether the Kuwaiti government will take further actions following Iran’s rejection of the claims regarding the assassination plot.
Iran rejects Kuwaiti claims of citizen’s involvement in assassination plot
Kuwait summoned Iran’s envoy in protest on Wednesday, after Tehran denied one of its citizens, sentenced to death in Kuwait, was involved in an assassination plot targeting a top government figure.
Earlier this week, two Kuwaiti judicial sources told the AFP news agency that the Gulf state had condemned three Shia men to death for plotting the assassination of Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Fahad al-Yousef, collaborating with Iran; and for membership in Hezbollah.
Iran’s embassy in Kuwait said earlier Wednesday it “rejects the Kuwaiti government’s claim regarding the involvement of an Iranian citizen in a plot to assassinate figures or in any other act that could harm Kuwaiti national security.”
It added that the person in question had been outside Kuwait for 10 years.
It said it regretted a “negative approach towards Iran, manifested, among other things, in the repetition of flimsy and worn-out scenarios concerning Iranian interference in Kuwaiti affairs.”
In response, Kuwait summoned Iranian ambassador Mohammad Toutounji over the statement, which it said “constituted blatant interference in the internal affairs of the State of Kuwait and an infringement upon its sovereignty and the independence of its judiciary.”
Abdulredha Haydar Dahqani was among those who had been sentenced to death, the judicial sources told AFP.
Dahqani, an Iranian national, had already been handed the death penalty in 2016 after he was tried in absentia along with 25 Kuwaitis. He was convicted of spying for Iran and plotting attacks.
Another was Hussein Abdallah al-Maatouq, a religious dignitary and secretary-general of the National Islamic Alliance, Kuwait’s most influential Shia movement, the sources said.
WTX/AFP