Kuwait alleges that Iran attacked an island hosting a China-funded port before Trump’s Beijing trip

Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system fires to intercept as air raid sirens sound in Tel Aviv, on Oct. 23, 2024. (Nathan Howard/Pool Photo via AP, File)

TEL AVIV, Israel — Kuwait accused Iran on Tuesday of sending an armed paramilitary Revolutionary Guard team to launch a failed attack earlier this month on an island in the Middle East nation home to a China-funded port project.

The accusation by Kuwait of an Iranian link to the incident came just before U.S. 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.

The accusation came as the U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, said that Israel sent Iron Dome anti-missile batteries and personnel to operate them to the United Arab Emirates to defend the country during the war as well.

That underlined the growing defense relationship between Israel and the UAE, countries long suspicious of Iran. It also represents the first publicly acknowledged deployment of Israel’s military to the Emirates, a federation of seven sheikdoms on the Arabian Peninsula home to Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

The narrow Strait of Hormuz remains in Tehran’s chokehold and negotiations between the U.S. and Iran appear at a standstill for the moment -- also raising the risk of the conflict breaking out again.

Kuwait alleges Iran planned attack

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 on May 1.

It accused the team of planning to carry out “hostile acts,” without elaborating.

Kuwait said that it detained four of the men, while two escaped when its forces disrupted their infiltration of the island. Kuwait that said one of its security officials had been wounded in the attack, which initially was announced on May 3 without any details.

Kuwait identified the men held as two Guard naval captains, a Guard naval lieutenant and a Guard army lieutenant.

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.

Kuwait provided no reason for why it delayed linking the attack to 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.

Huckabee says Israel deployed to UAE

Huckabee, a Baptist minister, former governor of Arkansas and one-time presidential candidate, made the comment on stage at an event in Tel Aviv, Israel.

“I’d like to say a word of appreciation for United Arab Emirates, the first Abraham accord member,” Huckabee said at the Tel Aviv Conference. “Just look at the benefits. Israel just sent them Iron Dome batteries and personnel to help operate them.”

The United Arab Emirates diplomatically recognized Israel in 2020. That drew criticism from Iran, long Israel’s main regional enemy. Iran didn’t immediately respond to Huckabee’s remarks, though it has repeatedly suggested over the years that Israel maintained a military and intelligence presence in the Emirates.

Israeli deployment comes as UAE signals strength

The UAE and Israel didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment over the acknowledgment by Huckabee. However, Huckabee’s remarks came after the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, was quoted as saying the same during an event at the Israeli mission there Monday night -- suggesting this was an intentional release of the information, likely with the Emiratis’ and Israelis’ blessing.

It comes as the UAE has faced Iranian missile and drone fire even after the ceasefire was reached in the war and has been trying to signal to nervous investors and the public it remains open for business and safe. The UAE also has closed down Iranian government-linked sites in the country since the war began. The Emirates long has been used by both the Iranian government and average Iranians as a place to safely do business offshore from the Islamic Republic.

On Thursday during a visit to the Emirates by Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, his Emirati counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan accompanied him to an air base where Egyptian pilots and Rafael fighter jets were stationed -- the first acknowledgment of a detachment operating in the UAE. Sheikh Mohammed and the UAE strongly backed el-Sissi as he rose to power in 2013 and in the years since.

Huckabee urges other Gulf states to recognize Israel

Huckabee added that he was “very optimistic” that additional countries in the region will soon join the Abraham Accords, the 2020 diplomatic recognition deal that also included the Gulf Arab kingdom of Bahrain, for formal relations with Israel.

However, many Arab states remain incensed by Israel’s wide-ranging military campaigns after Hamas’ 2023 attack on the country, which has seen the Gaza Strip leveled and Iran’s allies attacked across the wider Mideast. Israel now controls territory in Lebanon and Syria as well.

Huckabee in his remarks also sought to shore up U.S. support for the recent war, suggesting that “Israel is the appetizer, America has always been the entree” for Iran’s theocracy.

“The Gulf states now understood they will have to make a choice -- is it more likely they will be attacked by Iran or Israel?” Huckabee asked. “They see that Israel helped us and Iran attacked us. Israel is not trying to take over your land, and is not sending missiles to you.”

Bahrain sentences two dozen over alleged Iran ties

Meanwhile Tuesday, prosecutors in Bahrain said at least two dozen people were handed prison sentences on Tuesday on charges including espionage and conspiring with Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard. They said three were sentenced to life. Others received shorter Iran-related sentences.

Bahrain -- an island nation ruled by a Sunni Muslim monarchy with a Shiite-majority population -- has sentenced dozens on Iran-related charges since the start of the war. Prosecutors and the Interior Ministry have alleged that Iran maintains cells that carry out espionage and help identify targets there. Rights groups say the island nation has widened a crackdown on dissidents during the war, as well as on Shiites.

Melanie Lidman, The Associated Press