Kuwait: 3 sentenced to death over assassination plot, 'working for Iran, Hezbollah'

A court in Kuwait on Oct. 26, 2026 sentenced three men to death over an alleged plot to assassinate the country’s First Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Fahad al-Yusuf al-Sabbah, in a case involving charges of spying for Iran, joining Hezbollah and planning hostile acts against the state.

The Criminal Court’s State Security and Terrorism Division issued the sentences on Oct 26, while eight other defendants received prison terms.

Kuwaiti media reported that the eight were sentenced to five years in prison each. The verdicts are not final and can be appealed, according to Kuwait Times newspaper.

The three men sentenced to death were identified as Shia cleric Hussein Abdullah al-Maatouq, secretary-general of the National Islamic Alliance, Hassan Abdulhadi Hajieh and Iranian national Abdulreza Haidar Dehqani, according to local media reports.

The defendants were convicted of charges including alleged harming of Kuwait’s national interests, collaborating with Iran, plotting to assassinate senior officials and joining the Lebanese Shia militant group Hezbollah, which Kuwait classifies as a terrorist organisation.

According to two judicial sources cited by AFP, one of the men sentenced to death had previously been convicted of terrorism in 2016 and later received an amnesty from the emir before being arrested again in April.

The prosecution said the case involved 11 defendants, including nine Kuwaitis, an Iranian national and another non-Kuwaiti. Three of the defendants were outside the country. It also said that three defendants had previously received final criminal sentences in state security cases in 2015 and 2017.

According to Kuwait’s Al-Qabas newspaper, prosecutors accused the defendants of attempting to use explosives to carry out the assassination plot. One defendant was separately accused of attempting to bring explosives into the country to enable the others to carry out the alleged operation.

In its reasoning, the court said the defendants had sought to undermine Kuwait’s security, spread social unrest and erode public confidence in the authorities’ ability to protect lives and property.

Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Rai reported that the indictment accused the defendants of seeking assistance from and communicating with Iran and groups acting in its interests, including Hezbollah, to carry out hostile acts against Kuwait following the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on 28 February, at the start of the US-Israeli war against Iran.

The indictment also accused the defendants of joining and participating in a banned organisation, knowingly supporting its objectives and spreading ideas intended to undermine the country’s fundamental political and social systems through unlawful means.

Prosecutors further alleged that the defendants had engaged in activities harmful to Kuwait’s national interests, including attempting to use explosives to carry out the assassination and cause public panic. One defendant was accused of attempting to procure explosives to enable the others to commit the alleged crimes.

The court’s ruling is subject to appeal.

In March, Kuwait announced the arrest of dozens of people it said were linked to Hezbollah and plotting attacks in the Gulf state, which was repeatedly targeted by Iranian missiles and drones after the US-Israeli strikes on Iran triggered a regional war.

Hezbollah, engaged in conflict with Israel for more than three years, has denied it has a presence in Kuwait.