ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Kuwait’s foreign ministry on Wednesday declared two members of the Iranian diplomatic mission in Kuwait persona non grata, ordering them to leave the country within 24 hours, following an overnight Iranian attack on Kuwaiti territory, while directing a reduction in the number of Iranian embassy staff.

In the early hours of Wednesday, multiple ballistic missiles and drones were launched toward Kuwait, Bahrain, the UAE, and Iraq amid a wider exchange of fire between the US and Iran.

The attacks were part of a broader escalation in which Iran and US forces traded strikes across the region, with both sides blaming each other for the offensive. 

Tehran later blamed Kuwait and Bahrain as host countries of the US attacks against Iran, warning of retaliation. 

Following the developments, Kuwait’s Deputy Foreign Minister Hamad Sulaiman al-Mashaan summoned Hamed Hamid Yaqoubi Far, Iran’s acting charge d’affaires in Kuwait, and handed him an “official protest note regarding the ongoing Iranian aggressions, as well as a decision to reduce the number of members of the Iranian Embassy in the country,” read a statement.

The Iranian diplomat was also informed of a decision “to declare two members of the Iranian diplomatic mission persona non grata, demanding their departure from the territory of the State of Kuwait within a maximum period of 24 hours.”

“This decision comes in the wake of the continued brutal and relentless Iranian aggressions using ballistic missiles and drones,” the Kuwaiti foreign ministry added.

The attacks on Kuwait targeted civilian and vital facilities, including Kuwait International Airport, resulting in the death of an Indian expatriate and injuries to several individuals since the early hours of Wednesday. 

The ministry rejected “the use of its territories or airspace for any hostile acts against any state,” saying Tehran’s claims are “devoid of truth and unsupported by any evidence,” and stressing Kuwait’s “full and legitimate right” to defend itself. 

Earlier on Wednesday, Kuwait’s army said that its forces intercepted 13 “hostile ballistic missiles” within Kuwaiti airspace, along with 17 “hostile drones,” as part of Iranian attacks.