Death sentences passed on two Iranians and a Kuwaiti for spying in the Persian Gulf emirate on behalf of Tehran

Kuwait trial reveals ‘Iran’s hidden hand’

Posted by admin on March 30, 2011 in English, Urgent | 0 Comment

KUWAIT CITY, March 30 (UPI) — Death sentences passed on two Iranians and a Kuwaiti for spying in the Persian Gulf emirate on behalf of Tehran has heightened suspicions that Iran has had a hand in the recent political upheaval in the strategic region. The heaviest clashes have taken place in the island kingdom of Bahrain, where long-downtrodden Shiite Muslims, who comprise 70 percent of the population, have demanded the fall of the 200-year-old Sunni monarchy.

Since the rioting erupted Feb. 14, part of the unprecedented turbulence sweeping the Arab world, dozens of Bahraini protesters have been killed by security forces. Saudi Arabia, linked to Bahrain by a 16-mile causeway, has sent in 1,000 troops to help the al-Khalifa dynasty restore order and buttress the monarchy.

There has been trouble too in Kuwait and Oman, the sultanate on the southeastern tip of the Arabian Peninsula which shares control of the strategic Strait of Hormuz, the only maritime gateway to the gulf and a vital oil tanker route, with Iran.

But, analysts say, the Iranians’ ultimate target is to paralyze Saudi Arabia’s giant oil fields located in the Shiite-dominated Eastern Province — right across the causeway from Bahrain — and threaten the pro-Western monarchy.

The Iranians’ al-Quds Force, clandestine arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, has been reported to be aiding Shiite Houthi rebels in northern Yemen, where President Ali Abdullah Saleh is increasingly isolated amid nationwide demands he resign.

A shipload of guns supposedly destined for the Houthis was reportedly intercepted March 24 by the United Arab Emirates, although this hasn’t been confirmed.

The Kuwaiti electronic newspaper al-Aan reports that two Iranian boats carrying weapons, possibly for Bahraini protesters, were seized off Qatar. But the Doha government denies that.

Western intelligence agencies don’t appear to be wholly convinced that Iran is involved in the political upheaval in the gulf, largely because of the lack of hard evidence.

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