Kuwait said Tuesday it arrested four men linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) after they allegedly attempted to infiltrate Kuwaiti territory near Bubiyan Island by sea earlier this month.

Kuwait’s Ministry of Interior said the operation took place on May 1 and involved “a fishing boat specially chartered to carry out hostile actions against Kuwait.” 

The ministry said the four detainees admitted they had been tasked by the IRGC with “infiltrating” the island.

استكمالًا لبيان وزارة الدفاع بشأن القبض على 4 متسللين حاولوا دخول البلاد بحرًا

وزارة الداخلية: اعتراف مجموعة المتسللين إلى أراضي الكويت أثناء التحقيق معهم بانتمائهم إلى الحرس الثوري في الجمهورية الإسلامية الإيرانية

– اعترفوا بتكليفهم بالتسلل إلى جزيرة بوبيان على متن قارب صيد… pic.twitter.com/9YX668nuyJ

— كونا KUNA (@kuna_ar) May 12, 2026

The ministry identified the detained men as Colonels Amir Hussein Abd Mohammed Zara’i and Abdulsamad Yadallah Qanwati, Captain Ahmed Jamshid Gholam Reza Zulfiqari and First Lieutenant Mohammed Hussein Sehrab Faroughi Rad.

Kuwaiti authorities said the confrontation on Bubiyan Island resulted in one Kuwaiti service member being wounded by gunfire. Two other suspects, identified as navy Captain Mansour Qambari and the vessel’s captain, Abdulali Kazem Siamari, allegedly escaped during the clash.

Bubiyan Island, Kuwait’s largest island, hosts major civilian and military infrastructure, including ports, power facilities and substations. China has been involved in port development projects on the island.

In a statement, Kuwait’s Foreign Ministry condemned what it described as a hostile violation of the country’s sovereignty and called on Iran to “immediately and unconditionally halt its illegitimate hostile acts.”

Iran’s Foreign Ministry rejected the allegations and demanded the immediate release of the detained Iranians.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry strongly rejected Kuwait’s allegations about Tehran planning hostile measures against the Persian Gulf country as totally baseless and unacceptable.

Follow https://t.co/B3zXG73Jym pic.twitter.com/PQuNZqNGk5

— Press TV 🔻 (@PressTV) May 13, 2026

Tehran acknowledged that four Iranian sailors had entered Kuwaiti territorial waters, but said the incident was caused by a malfunction in their navigation equipment rather than an organized military operation.

The accusations come amid heightened tensions across the Gulf region following months of instability tied to the ongoing conflict involving Iran, the United States and its regional allies.