Kuwait Times

Published Date: October 15, 2009

KUWAIT: Five Kuwaiti fishermen and their Egyptian and Qatari comrades returned home yesterday after Iranian authorities released them earlier in the day. The men were tearfully reunited with their relatives who had been waiting for them at the Sabah Al-Ahmad base in Fintas since Tuesday. Interior Ministry spokesman Colonel Mohammad Al-Sabr told KUNA that the seven were treated well during their detention by the Iranian authorities. He lauded the treatment the fishermen received from the Iranian Coast Guard
, affirming that the efforts by official Kuwaiti-Iranian channels led to the quick release of the fishermen.

Iran arrested the seven in its territorial waters on Saturday as they were fishing in two boats. Kuwait's Foreign Ministry said they "strayed" into Iranian waters and Tehran promised to release them after questioning. Iran-Kuwait ties soured during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war because of Kuwait's support for Baghdad. But they later improved, especially after Iran's neutral stand during the 1991 Gulf War that ended Iraq's brief occupation of Kuwait.

Meanwhile, Interior Minister Sheikh Jaber Khaled Al-Sabah congratulated the families of the freed Kuwaiti fishermen. The minister thanked the Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry and Coast Guard for their great efforts to help free the fishermen, Interior Ministry spokesman Col Mohammad Al-Saber said. He urged Kuwaiti fishermen and boats to keep in Kuwaiti territorial waters.

Kuwait's Ambassador to Iran Majdi Al-Dhifiri, who was in the Iranian city of Abadan since early Wednesday, praised the role of the city's governor in releasing the seven people, saying he realized the strength of Kuwaiti-Iranian ties. He also hailed the cooperation of Iranian authorities in Abadan and expressed gratitude to the leadership of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard that facilitated his meeting with the detained men. He also expressed gratitude to the Iranian Foreign Ministry and Iran's Ambassador t
o Kuwait Ali Jannati. - Agencies