Kuwait moving against at least eight active Iran espionage networks
http://www.geostrategy-direct.com/geostrategy-direct/
ABU DHABI — Kuwait has captured an unspecified number of Iranian spies this year. Security sources said the detainees stemmed from several Iranian-directed espionage and sleeper cells in Kuwait. “All the signs indicate that there’s a huge plot targeting the security of the region as a whole,” a Kuwaiti security source said. Kuwaiti newspapers have provided details of the Iranian espionage presence in the GCC state.
http://www.arabianbusiness.com/kuwait-breaks-iranian-spy-ring-report-184284.html
Kuwait breaks Iranian ‘spy ring’ - report
Kuwait’s security forces have shattered a spy cell working for Iran’s Revolutionary Guard to feed information on Kuwaiti and US targets, local media has reported.
Al-Qabas newspaper said that at least seven Kuwaiti men were arrested, some of whom served in the interior and defence ministries. In addition, it said bedoon, or stateless Arabs, and other Arabs, were arrested.
The newspaper said that another “six or seven” suspects remained at loose, and that security services were hunting for them. Meanwhile, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast denied the report as “utterly baseless” and said it was propaganda against the Islamic Republic.
According to Al-Qabas, the cell’s members had taken pictures of Kuwaiti military and other vital targets, in addition to US military sites. The paper said security forces stormed the home of one of the cell leaders in Sulaibiya, 25km west of Kuwait City, and found maps for key sites, sophisticated communications gear and over $250,000 in cash.
The newspaper quoted Kuwaiti security sources as saying members of the cell had confessed they were assigned to recruit new members whose ideas were similar to the Revolutionary Guards. Cell members had apparently visited Iran frequently under the guise of tourism, medical treatment or visiting religious places.
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http://www.kuwaittimes.net/read_news.php?newsid=NTY4OTcxNjM=
Three get death in Iran spy ring
Published Date: March 30, 2011
KUWAIT: Two Iranians and a Kuwaiti national, all serving in Kuwait’s army, were condemned to death yesterday for belonging to an Iranian spy ring, a judiciary source said. A Syrian and a bedoon (stateless Arab) were handed life terms at the end of the trial, while an Iranian man and the only woman defendant - daughter of one of the two Iranians on death row - were acquitted, he said.
The three men condemned to death and the Syrian were serving in the Kuwaiti military at the time of their arrest in May 2010, while the bedoon was an ex-soldier. The two Iranians handed the death sentence and the convicted stateless Arab appeared by their names to be brothers.
The defendants were accused of spying for neighbouring Iran and of passing on information on the Kuwaiti and US military in Kuwait to the Islamic republic’s Revolutionary Guards, an accusation denied by Tehran. The criminal court’s verdict can be appealed up to the supreme court. The trial which opened last August was held behind closed doors, and judge Adel Al-Sager slapped a news blackout on the case.
The court heard charges that the spy ring had passed on confidential military information to a foreign nation, taken pictures of Kuwaiti military installations and spied for Iran. According to local media, the men confessed to monitoring and photographing Kuwaiti and US military sites for the Revolutionary Guard, but the defendants denied the charges in court and said confessions were extracted under torture.
Iran has strongly rejected the charges of spying for its benefit, insisting the accusations were “absolutely false”. A day after the alleged cell was busted, several MPs called for the expulsion of Shiite Iran’s ambassador in Kuwait City and for the recall of the state’s envoy to Tehran. About 45,000 Iranians live and work in Kuwait, which has a sizeable Shiite minority. - AFP
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http://www.kuwaittimes.net/read_news.php?newsid=MTA0OTEyNzc4NQ==
Maasouma blasts Iranian campaign
Published Date: April 14, 2011
By B Izzak, Staff Writer
KUWAIT: MP Maasouma Al-Mubarak yesterday lashed out at what she described an Iranian propaganda campaign against Kuwait on the back of the conviction of members of an Iranian spy ring. Islamist MP Mohammad Hayef meanwhile described as a “big scandal” the fact that the law office that represents the prime minister is defending members of the Iranian spy ring and demanded an inquiry. Mubarak, a Shiite lawmaker, said that the campaign by Iranian media against Kuwait for practicing its legitimate right of safe
guarding it national security is an attempt to reverse facts.
She said that members of the ring were uncovered about a year ago and were granted a fair trial in the court which banned the publication of any news about the ring until a ruling was issued. After the announcement of the verdict by the court, Iran was supposed to respect the judiciary and deal with the issue in a way to preserve the relations between the two countries and provide assurances that the Iranian leadership respects the sovereignty and security of Kuwait, said Mubarak.
She specifically criticized statements by the Iranian president deemed humiliating to Kuwait in which he said that there is nothing in Kuwait to spy on, thus giving the green signal to the Iranian media to attack Kuwait and describe it as a puppet in the hands of the United States. Mubarak insisted that media and political escalation does not serve the security and interests of the region and the positive relations between the two sides of the Gulf.
In a related matter, MP Hayef charged that the law office representing the prime minister is defending members of the alleged Iranian spy ring, describing this as a “major political scandal” since the government is supposed to be the foe of the spy cell. Hayef said the issue raises many question marks since the prime minister should keep himself away from such controversial issues that may undermine the image of the Kuwaiti government. The lawmaker said that he and opposition MPs planning to grill the prim
e minister are considering to add this issue to the planned questioning because of the sensitivity of the issue.
The verdict issued by Kuwait’s Criminal Court on March 29 against the alleged Iranian spy ring has raised a controversy in the country and a tit-for-tat expulsion of diplomats between Kuwait and Iran. The court sentenced two Iranians and a Kuwaiti to death and two others, an Iranian and a bedoon, were handed life terms in jail. Two others, including the only woman in the case, were acquitted.
WASHINGTON — Iran has deployed 10,000 elite troops in Syria to protect the regime of President Bashar Assad and has been in effective control of the country for the past week, the opposition said.
The Reform Party of Syria said Iran has deployed its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Syria to bolster Syria's defense, Middle East Newsline reported. The Washington-based opposition group said the IRGC contingent in Syria contains 10,000 troops, with headquarters in the northern province of Homs.
"In essence, the IRGC now occupies Syria and has become its de facto ruler," RPS spokesman Farid Ghadry said. "Syria has become the 32nd province of Iran."
Cable points to Derna, Libya as 'wellspring' of Islamist terrorism
A classified cable from the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli from June 8, 2008 identified the eastern port town of Derna, Libya as a hot bed of Islamist terrorism. The cable said Derna's Baab al-Shiha neighborhood, site of the town's old fort, is the location of "a large number of the Libyan foreign fighters identified in documents captured during September's Objective Massey operation in Iraq."