Iran denies reports of Kuwait downgrading ties

The Islamic Republic has dismissed media reports that there has been a downgrade in diplomatic relations between Iran and Kuwait after Saudi Arabia and Bahrain severed relations with Tehran.

“The Kuwaiti ambassador traveled to his country only for consultation,” an informed source at Iran’s Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.

He added that such reports are media hype.

Media reports claimed that Kuwait recalled its ambassador to Iran on Tuesday in reaction to demonstrations held in front of the Saudi embassy in Tehran and its consulate in the northeastern city of Mashhad by angry protesters censuring the Al Saud family for the killing of the top Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr.

Some people scaled the walls of the consulate in Mashhad while incendiary devices were hurled at the embassy in Tehran. Some 50 people were detained over the transgression.

Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic relations with Iran on Sunday following the demonstrations.

The Bahraini government said on Monday that it is cutting diplomatic ties with Iran following a similar move by its ally Saudi Arabia. Manama also announced on Tuesday that it had decided to halt all flights to and from Iran.

The United Arab Emirates said on Monday it has recalled its ambassador from Iran and downgraded diplomatic relations with Tehran.

The UAE had decided to lower “diplomatic representation to the level of charge d’affaires and reduce the number of Iranian diplomats in the country,” WAM news agency quoted the Foreign Ministry as saying in a statement.

Nimr’s execution has drawn strong public and political reactions around the world. The monarchy has, however, rejected all criticisms, accusing critics of meddling in its internal affairs.

Sheikh Nimr, a critic of the Riyadh regime, was shot by Saudi police and arrested in 2012 in Qatif, which was the scene of peaceful anti-regime demonstrations at the time.

He was charged with instigating unrest and undermining the kingdom’s security. He had rejected the charges as baseless.