Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi reached Kuwait on Saturday on a two-day official visit carrying a special letter of Prime Minister Imran Khan for the Emir of Kuwait
DESPARDES News Monitor – The current situation in the region due to rising tensions between the US and Iran, is “perilous”, head of the Kuwaiti parliament Marzouq Al Ghanem said on Thursday following a crisis meeting with government officials.
“The risks of war in the region were “very high,” taking into consideration the arrival of US military troops to the waters of the Gulf to face Iran,” Mr. Ghanem said.
The development comes as Kuwait increased security measures near oil installations and territorial waters citing rising tension between US and Iran.
Iran’s foreign minister said on Saturday “there will be no war” with the US, since “nobody in the region is suffering from a hallucination to think that he is able to confront Iran”.
He added that though Trump has said he is not seeking war, “some that have sat around him” are pushing such a conflict.
That appeared to be a reference to national security adviser, John Bolton, who has long advocated regime change in Tehran.
Following a secret meeting called for by the Kuwaiti National Assembly on Thursday to discuss with the government the current regional challenges, Ghanim said in a press statement that the Kuwaiti government was expecting war to erupt in the Gulf.
The Speaker said that based on information revealed by the concerned ministers, the possibility was unfortunately high as the situation was alarming and going out of control.
He added that the government confirmed readiness to handle emergencies “in case of the eruption of a war” in the region.
Ministers of foreign affairs, trade, electricity and information explained their contingency plans at the meeting held behind closed doors, Gulf News reported.
“According to the detailed explanation given by the ministers, it has become clear how delicate, sensitive and dangerous the stage ahead and the necessity of taking all measures for all possibilities,” Al Ghanem said, according to Kuwait’s state news agency KUNA.
“At the foreign front, the situation is not assuring,” he added.
In recent days, tensions have mounted in the Gulf after four vessels were sabotaged off the eastern cost of the United Arab Emirates and Iran-allied Houthi militants in Yemen claimed responsibility for a drone attack on vital oil installations in Saudi Arabia.
Global oil traders and global ship insurers are closely monitoring increased tensions in the Middle East, and considering their next course of action. On Thursday, London maritime ship insurers met to consider whether or not to increase shipping insurance rates for tankers in the Arabian Gulf.
The Joint War Committee, which includes Lloyd’s Market Association (LMA) members and representatives from other insurance providers, will meet on Monday to discuss the matter further, reported OilPrice citing the LMA’s Head of Marine Underwriting Neil Roberts.
In an unrelated development, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi reached Kuwait on Saturday on a two-day official visit to the Gulf country.
Qureshi is said to be carrying a special letter of Prime Minister Imran Khan for the Emir of Kuwait.
Kuwait plans big investment across Pakistan, sources say.
