July 22, The Iran Project – An Iranian parliamentarian says at the same time with the last month Saudi Arabian-organized summit in Riyadh that caused the ongoing crisis between Qatar and several Arab countries over Doha’s endorsement of Iran as a source of peace and stability in the region, Saudi rulers put pressure on Kuwait to reduce ties with Tehran.


Speaking to a reporter on Saturday, Hossein Naghavi Hosseini, the spokesman for the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee noted that in line with its hostile policies by inciting Iranophobia in the world, Saudi Arabia is trying to prevent the regional countries from interacting with the Islamic Republic.


Naghavi Hosseini referred to the recent diplomatic row between Tehran and Kuwait City, and said Saudis' footprint can obviously be seen in this case.


The Iranian lawmaker also criticized the cessation of Iran-Kuwait’s joint cooperation, saying Tehran and Kuwait City have always had positive ties and benefited from having economic, political and social interactions.


Iran and Kuwait have never had tense relations, he stressed, adding the Islamic Republic helped Kuwait when the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein attacked the country.


Kuwait has reportedly told the Iranian Embassy to reduce its diplomatic staff in the Persian Gulf state and close down some of its technical offices following a court ruling last year that implicated some Iranians in a spying case.


Citing a Foreign Ministry source, Kuwait’s official KUNA new agency reported Thursday that Kuwait City decided to freeze any activities involving joint committees between the two countries following the ruling by Kuwait’s top court in a case known as the “Abdali cell.”


Media reports said on Thursday that Kuwait had shut down the office of Iran’s cultural attaché and reduced the number of Iranian diplomats in the country from 19 to 4.


Later on Thursday, Iran's Foreign Ministry summoned Kuwait’s charge d’affaires in Tehran for “some explanations.”