Iran says ready to resume talks with Kuwait on disputed Persian Gulf gas field

A senior Iranian diplomat says Tehran is ready to resume negotiations with Kuwait on the disputed Arash natural gas field in the Persian Gulf, praising “positive” relations between the two neighbors.

Mohammad Irani, Tehran’s envoy to Kuwait, made the comments at a ceremony hosted by Iran’s Embassy in the kingdom to mark the International Quds Day.

The ambassador said Iran-Kuwait ties are currently “at their best” and such a “positive” climate sets the stage for renewed negotiations to resolve the dispute over the Arash gas field, which is shared by Iran, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

Recently, Kuwait announced a plan to extract 1 billion standard cubic feet per day of gas and 84,000 barrels per day of condensate from the field under an agreement signed with Saudi Arabia. Iran dismissed the agreement as “illegal.”

Kuwait has claimed that Arash, known as Durra in Arabic, is “entirely a Kuwaiti and Saudi field,” and that the issue to be settled with Iran is just the demarcation of the area.

Iran, however, says it has a stake in the field and the two Arab neighbors should not develop the area until the demarcation issue is resolved.

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