Kuwait's Iranians face pressure as war hits Gulf state

Kuwait's Iranian community is facing new pressure as the Middle East war brings repeated Iranian strikes on the Gulf state and heightens sensitivity around links to Iran.

A Persian restaurant in Kuwait City removed the words “Iranian cuisine” from its title earlier this year. An employee told AFP that management removed the reference because of the sensitivity of the issue, while saying the restaurant's business had not been affected by the war.

Iran resumed strikes on Kuwait after weeks of calm as Tehran and Washington returned to open conflict. Kuwait has been hit for more than six months by the war, including strikes on oil installations, civilian infrastructure and US military bases. This week, back-to-back barrages included a drone attack that caused a fire in a residential complex in Kuwait City.

Around 52,000 Iranians live in Kuwait. Many work as low-paid labourers on fishing boats, in vegetable markets and at bakeries, while others are merchants in the fabric and carpet trade.

Hussein, a 35-year-old Iranian resident from Shiraz who used a pseudonym because he feared backlash, told AFP that the community was going through an extremely difficult time. He said he had lived in Kuwait for 18 years and did not want problems between the two countries.

Iranian authorities suspended direct flights between Kuwait and Iran on February 28 after US and Israeli air raids triggered all-out war. Hussein said he had been unable to return to Iran, where his daughter lives.

Some Iranian merchants said relations with Kuwaiti customers remained good and that their businesses had not yet been affected. But others described anxiety. Ali, an Iranian man in his 30s who also used a pseudonym, said he had not been harmed or harassed but felt caught in the middle.

Kuwaiti authorities have arrested people suspected of links to Iran's Revolutionary Guards. Kuwait's sole Iranian school was closed by authorities last month, a Kuwaiti education ministry source told AFP on condition of anonymity, without giving further details.

Before the war, trade between Kuwait and Iran totalled about $300 million in 2024, according to Kuwaiti media citing the two countries' joint chamber of commerce.