Serdar Dincel
03 June 2026•Update: 03 June 2026
Kuwait declared two Iranian diplomats “persona non grata” on Wednesday after Iranian drone and ballistic missile attacks on its territory that also hit a terminal at its international airport.
In a statement on US social media company X, the Foreign Ministry said Deputy Foreign Minister Ambassador Hamad Suleiman Al-Mishaan summoned Hamid Hamid Yaqoubi Far, the acting charge d’affaires of the Iranian Embassy in Kuwait, and handed him a protest note, also including a decision to reduce the Iranian embassy staff.
The Iranian diplomats who were declared persona non grata are required to leave the Kuwaiti territory within 24 hours, according to the statement.
Al-Mashaan expressed Kuwait's condemnation of the Iranian attacks and reiterated his country's "rejection of the use of its territory or airspace for any hostile acts against any state."
"He also emphasized that Iran’s false claims are baseless and unsupported by any evidence, and that the repetition of such allegations cannot in any way justify the attacks on Kuwait’s territory and civilian and vital infrastructure," the statement added.
Al-Mashaan stressed that Kuwait reserves a "full and inherent right to defend itself and to take all necessary measures to preserve its sovereignty and safeguard its security," according to the ministry.
Kuwaiti authorities said the strikes killed one person, injured 63 others and damaged key facilities, including diplomatic missions, stressing that it reserves the full right to respond to the attacks.
The state-run Kuwait News Agency said Prime Minister Ahmad Abdullah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah visited the airport after the attack.
Regional tensions have escalated since late February after the US and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran, killing more than 3,000 people, including then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several senior military commanders and government officials.
A Pakistan-brokered ceasefire took effect on April 8, and efforts to reach a broader agreement have continued since then.
US President Donald Trump, in an interview aired Wednesday, said Iran has agreed not to have a nuclear weapon and that Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is involved in negotiations with the US.
