Kuwait accused Iran on Tuesday of sending an armed paramilitary Revolutionary Guard team to attack an island in the Middle East nation home to a China-funded port project, just before US President Donald Trump travels to Beijing for a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Iran didn't immediately acknowledge the allegation by Kuwait, which came under repeated attack by Iran in the war and even during the shaky ceasefire still holding in the region. However, the allegation and ongoing attacks throughout the region have threatened to tip the region back into open warfare..
Kuwait said that a team of six armed members of the Guard tried to infiltrate Bubiyan Island in the northwest corner of the Persian Gulf near Iraq and Iran.
It accused the team of planning to carry out “hostile acts.” Kuwait said that it detained four of the men, while two escaped. Kuwait that said one of its security officials had been wounded in the attack.
Bubiyan Island is home to Mubarak Al Kabeer Port, which is under construction as part of China’s “Belt and Road” initiative. That project also came under attack during the war by Iran.
Trump is traveling this week to China for a summit with Xi, during which Iran will likely be a topic. Beijing long has been a buyer of sanctioned Iranian crude oil and has been hurt by the strait's closure, which has sparked a global energy crisis. (AP)
