Kuwait denies barring Iranians from entering country
Kuwait City
Kuwait has denied a media report claiming that it had instructed the interior ministry not to allow Iranian citizens to enter the country.
“The report is untrue and lacks credibility,” the interior ministry said, according to Kuwait news Agency. “There have never been verbal or written orders banning the issuance of entry or visit visas to Iranians.”
The ministry said it was “implementing the vision of the Amir and the instructions of the interior minister to facilitate the entry of various nationalities in order to transform Kuwait into a financial centre.”
Kuwaiti daily Al Alem Al Yawm on Sunday reported that the interior ministry had given verbal instructions to bar Iranian visitors and tourists from entering the country.
“The orders were not time specific and called for not issuing visas to Iranian visitors or tourists and to applying strict measures on work visas,” the paper said, quoting unnamed sources.
The ban claim coincided with news of the unveiling of a money-laundering scheme in Bahrain amid reports that Iranians and a Kuwaiti woman were alleged involved in the operations.
Kuwait has the largest number of Iranians on the Arabian Peninsula. The Iranian community is the third largest in the northern Arabian Gulf state behind the Indian and Egyptian communities.
