KUWAIT CITY, Dec 20: The Director of Asia Administration in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mohammad Al-Roumi denies Iranian claim that a deal was signed with Kuwait to swap two Kuwaiti citizens detained recently by Iran for members of the Iranian spy on trial in Kuwaiti courts, reports Al-Seyassah daily.
In an interview with the daily, Al-Roumi stressed the two cases are different because those two Kuwaitis, Adel Al-Yahya and Raed Al-Majed, have entered Iran on tourist visas and not to spy on activities in the country, as alleged. He added the case of the Iranian spy ring is being deliberated by the Kuwaiti judicial system, which is known for its integrity, justice and credibility.
The statement is in response to a speech the Iranian Foreign Affairs Ministry’s undersecretary for the Affairs of Middle East and Africa Hussain Abdullahian made Monday, in which he said Kuwaiti authorities had promised to release the Iranians, and that Iran cannot accept detention of its citizens in Kuwait on ‘flimsy accusations’.
The statement which was reported by the official Iranian News Agency IRNA referred to an alleged meeting held between the Kuwaiti Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled and Abdullahian in which the latter claimed that Sheikh Khaled had promised to release those Iranian citizens.
The two Kuwaiti detainees were released after assurance by the Kuwaiti authority, said Abdullahian, and their release was an initiative the Kuwaiti side accepts.