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Arabia

A landing of Iranian colonels: the frightened emirate bowed to Macron

2026-05-26

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
by Leonid Tsukanov
[REGNUM] Tensions are rising between Kuwait and Iran. The al-Sabah family accuses Tehran of attempting to land a sabotage team on the strategically important Bubiyan Island in the northern Persian Gulf. Iran denies this and demands that the Kuwaiti authorities cease their "witch hunt" and incitement to hatred against the Islamic Republic.

But the Kuwaitis have no intention of resting. They see new ominous omens in Tehran's actions and are seeking ways to shield a key area from the upcoming landing operation by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which they are certain will begin soon.

FAILED LANDING
The incident occurred on May 11, but Kuwaiti authorities released its details later, after they were certain the threat had passed. According to the Interior Ministry, a group of six Iranians on a rented boat, the Meroj Keshtezri Darya, disguised as a fishing vessel, approached Bubiyan Island in the early morning hours and attempted to board it to commit "certain hostile acts."

The intruders resisted the arrest, resulting in one Kuwaiti serviceman being wounded. However, the garrison's superior numbers and firepower allowed them to quickly overcome the resistance and neutralize the attackers. Following a brief battle, four saboteurs were captured; the rest managed to weigh anchor and escape to the open sea. A coast guard boat sent in pursuit returned empty-handed.

Kuwaiti authorities later released the names of the detained Iranians. According to police, the sabotage team that landed on the island included Colonel Abd al-Samad Yadallah Kanawati, Captain Ahmad Jamshid Gholam Reza Zolaghari, and Senior Lieutenant Muhammad Hossein Sohrab Foroughi Rad.

The group was led by Colonel Amir Hossein Abd Muhammad Zara'i, in whose name the vessel was chartered. Although the captives cooperated with the investigation, providing their real names and ranks, and indicating their affiliation with the IRGC Navy, they refused to comment on the purpose of their arrival at Bubiyan. There was also no answer to questions about the cargo on board or why their comrades chose to flee at sea.

The omission further angered Kuwait. The very next day, Iranian Ambassador Mohammad Totonji was summoned to the Foreign Ministry and strongly protested his country's "hostile actions." At the same time, Kuwait appealed to the UN, the Gulf Cooperation Council, the Arab League, and even NATO (of which it is a non-aligned partner), calling on the international community to "pay attention to Tehran's act of aggression" and its "obvious preparations for a major war."

MANY VERSIONS
Iran strongly denied the accusations of an attempted landing on a Kuwaiti island. A statement released by the Iranian Foreign Ministry emphasized that the maritime incident was the result of a failure of navigational equipment during a "routine patrol" in the Strait of Hormuz. Further deterioration in weather conditions caused the vessel to stray off course and end up in Kuwaiti territorial waters.

The Iranians were allegedly convinced they were still in their own waters, and mistook Bubiyan, which appeared on the horizon, for Iran's Kharg Island, which resembles Kuwaiti island in terms of topography and coastal area. The Foreign Ministry also stated that Kuwaiti shore guards, whom the crew of the Meroj Keshtezri Darya mistakenly identified as smugglers, opened fire first on the sailors, who were forced to fire back in self-defense. Moreover, the first shot fired by Kuwaiti security personnel nearly wounded Zarai, who was on the bridge.

Tehran refused to explain the specific missions assigned to the naval group or why a civilian vessel was chartered for the patrol. This gave Kuwait ample scope for accusations against the Islamic Republic and allowed it to inflate the theory of planned sabotage.

Opinion leaders loyal to Kuwait went even further and began vying with each other to concoct their own versions of events, which they eagerly shared on social media. Overnight, the "fishing vessel" swelled into a "sabotage flotilla" of several vessels, and the crew of the Meroj Keshtezri Darya was "joined" by combat divers, minelayers, and drone operators.

The latter allegedly attempted to deploy a drone battery on the island to strike deep into Kuwait's rear. Remarkably, some of these stories, at the time of widespread publicity, seemed so plausible that they even made it into the Qatari news agency Al Jazeera's operational reports, although they were quickly scrubbed.

Be that as it may, behind the apparent widespread publicity lies Kuwait's genuine concerns. Although Bubiyan lacks any significant infrastructure, with the exception of the Mubarak al-Kabeer port complex being built with Chinese funding, it offers easy access to Kuwait's key oil fields and military installations.

Furthermore, the island is located close to Iraq's major maritime arteries, and control over it allows, among other things, the port of Umm Qasr to be targeted, affecting local shipping. This makes the island a tempting target for the Iranian military.

And given the constant rumors about the impending seizure of Kharg by American forces to "force peace," Tehran is quite capable of retaliating and seizing control of the local islands. Including in advance. Needless to say, given this combination of factors, Kuwait is finally no longer perceiving the recent crisis as a fluke.

A DEFENDER IS NEEDED
Following the incident on the island, relations between Kuwait and Iran, already tense, have become even colder. The al-Sabah royal family continues to believe that Tehran was preparing a major combined operation in the Persian Gulf and that further landing attempts are only a matter of time.

Kuwait's overall response to the incident was largely predictable. The country increased coastguard patrols and declared several areas around the island closed to navigation until further notice.

However, the country's authorities understand that it will be difficult to compete with Tehran on their own. Kuwait's total naval strength is no more than 2,500 (10 times smaller than that of the IRGC Navy), and if Tehran were to make any real plans, it would not be difficult for it to capture and hold Bubiyan.

For this reason, the monarchy's authorities are looking for champions among the heavyweights. And their first choice fell on France.

Seriously? Still, it’s better than Britain, I suppose, and Turkey would never fall for Kuwaiti blandishments, even if they didn’t have their hands full with Somalia.

At high-level talks in Paris on May 15, the Bubiyan incident received increased attention as an example of a dangerous regional development. Furthermore, following the meetings, Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah conveyed a message to his French counterpart, Jean-Noël Barrot, addressed to President Emmanuel Macron.

The contents of the letter were not disclosed, but it also most likely concerned the aforementioned incident, as the very next day Kuwait and France agreed to hold a series of bilateral security consultations, tentatively scheduled for the second half of May.

Kuwait's calculations in this case are clear and extremely simple. The Élysée Palace is seeking ways to demonstrate its involvement in resolving the crisis in the Persian Gulf, but at the same time, it is reluctant to engage in direct military clashes with Iran.

A flag display near Bubiyan Island, even if very limited, would not only allow Paris to signal its presence in the region but also deter Tehran from further military action. At least, this is the idea being promoted by Kuwaiti experts close to the court.

However, Kuwait clearly doesn't plan to focus solely on Paris. Kuwaiti diplomats have at least several more tours scheduled—both in Europe and the Middle East—and in all cases, maritime security is high on the agenda.

Among other things, Kuwait is trying to expedite the implementation of existing agreements to upgrade its coast guard capabilities: for example, by reducing the delivery time of the upgraded Falaj 3 combat boats previously ordered from Italy and preventing a repeat of the incident involving the escape of some of the saboteurs.

Kuwait, however, apparently isn't counting on immediate US intervention. Washington's priority for now is protecting larger bases in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, which Tehran periodically targets for harassing fire.

I guess the current US bases in Kuwait aren’t enough to trigger American involvement…

The brief escalation off the coast of Kuwait was somewhat overshadowed by these crises. Moreover, the Bubiyan incident did not cause alarm or serious concern in the Republican camp: the White House and the Pentagon considered Iran's action to be a one-off and not preparation for a larger operation. Therefore, they suggested that the Kuwaiti government handle the threat itself, hoping that local sheikhs would quickly calm down.

However, for now, the opposite is true: Kuwait is nervously reacting to any political moves by Iran—for example, its intention to finally legitimize its control over shipping through the Strait of Hormuz—and is applying them to the recent situation with Bubiyan. And over time, it is increasingly inclined to strengthen its military presence on the troubled island.

Posted by:badanov

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