A senior Kuwaiti lawmaker on Sunday described Iran as the "true enemy" of Sunni-ruled Gulf Arab states, in a sign of growing tensions with the Shia power. "It has become clear to all that Iran is an enemy plotting to swallow up our states and resources and is the true enemy of the region," Hamad al-Harashani, the head of the Kuwaiti parliament's foreign relations committee, said in a statement.
It was the strongest Kuwaiti criticism in years of Iran, with which Kuwait has traditionally had better ties than its fellow Gulf Arab states.
Harashani singled out an apparent bomb attack Friday in Bahrain as "yet further evidence of Iran's aggression" in the region. The blast killed a policeman and wounded seven people, with Bahraini officials saying explosives used in the attack were similar to material seized by authorities last month which "came from Iran".
"Iran is seeking to spread chaos and undermine the ruling regimes" in the region, Harashani said, calling on Gulf states to boost security co-ordination.
Kuwait and Iran were on relatively good terms for years until the Gulf state this month broke up a "terrorist cell" and seized large quantities of weapons and explosives. Local media reported that the cell belonged to pro-Iranian Lebanese Shia militia Hezbollah. There has been no official confirmation of the claim.
A decades-old row between Kuwait and Iran over the disputed offshore Dorra gas field then resurfaced last week. Kuwait summoned Iran's charge d'affaires to protest Tehran's apparent offer of investment opportunities in the Dorra field.