Iran and Kuwait to exchange ambassadors again after diplomatic row

Iran and Kuwait have agreed to exchange ambassadors again following a diplomatic row that erupted when a Kuwaiti court sentenced three men to death for their role in what Kuwait said was an Iranian spy ring.

"Thank God it has been decided that both ambassadors will return quickly to their posts," Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi told a news conference at the Kuwaiti parliament.

Mr. Salehi’s visit comes amid allegations of an Iranian spy ring operating in the Gulf state which soured relations between the two countries and saw them engage in tit-for-tat expulsions of diplomats early April.

Kuwaiti media said in May 2010 a number of Kuwaitis and foreigners suspected of spying for Iran had been detained. Media reports said they were accused of gathering information on Kuwaiti and US military sites for Iran's Revolutionary Guards

"Salehi's visit to Kuwait is in line with... efforts to discuss bilateral and regional issues with the countries in the region," government spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said in remarks broadcast on Iranian state television Tuesday.

"The views of each side as well as solutions to regional issues will be discussed during the visit," he said.

The Kuwait stopover will mark Mr. Salehi's fifth regional trip in the past few weeks, following visits to Qatar, Oman, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates.

Relations between the Sunni-ruled Arab states in the Gulf and non-Arab predominantly Shiite Iran were strained following a crackdown in March on protests in Bahrain that were led by the tiny kingdom's Shiite majority.

Bahrain has accused Tehran of the protests which were put down with the help of Saudi and UAE troops.

Iran criticized the use of Saudi troops to quell the protests, drawing an accusation of interference in Bahrain's internal affairs from the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council, greatly concerned about Iran's influence in the region.

Iranian officials have denied meddling in Bahrain -- but Iran sent a flotilla of boats carrying 120 activists there on Monday to show solidarity with protesters in the island kingdom.

(Sara Ghasemilee, an editor at Al Arabiya English, can be reached at: [email protected])