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KUWAIT CITY: Senior officials from the United States and Iran visited Kuwait on Sunday to meet with the new emir, Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, who was sworn in last week.
Sheikh Nawaf succeeded his half brother, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, a giant of Gulf diplomacy who died at the age of 91.
In a divided region, Sheikh Sabah cultivated a role as an intermediary and mediator, a status illustrated by Sunday’s visitors who included senior officials from his archrivals Washington and Tehran.
US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper conveyed his condolences for the loss of the late leader in a meeting with the new emir, who also expressed concern for the health of US President Donald Trump.
Sheikh Nawaf said he was glad that Trump, who has been hospitalized after being diagnosed with coronavirus, is “recovering and doing well.” Esper thanked him for his “worried expression.”
Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif met with his Kuwaiti counterpart and the new emir separately to pay their respects.
Zarif “congratulated them on the election of the new emir of Kuwait and highlighted the support of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, also visited him to express his condolences, the Dubai Media Office said in a tweet.
Kuwait and the United States are close allies, subject to a defense agreement that expires in 2022, but the Gulf state also balances relations with regional powers Saudi Arabia and Iran.
The American alliance was sealed with the 1991 Gulf War, during which an international coalition led by the United States expelled Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi troops from Kuwait after seven months of occupation.
Before arriving in Kuwait on Sunday, Esper spent the night in Qatar, another US ally in the oil-rich Gulf, where he spoke about “the importance of the strong defense partnership” between the two countries.
Kuwait also acted as a mediator in a diplomatic split between Qatar and its Gulf neighbors, after Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain imposed a blockade on Doha in 2017.
Posted in Dawn, Oct 5, 2020
