{"id":5999,"date":"2011-04-13T14:09:33","date_gmt":"2011-04-13T10:09:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/?p=5999"},"modified":"2011-04-13T14:12:58","modified_gmt":"2011-04-13T10:12:58","slug":"kuwait-and-iran-playing-the-expel-a-diplomat-tit-for-tat-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/middle-east-politics-analysis\/kuwait-and-iran-playing-the-expel-a-diplomat-tit-for-tat-game\/","title":{"rendered":"Kuwait and Iran Playing the &#8216;Expel-A-Diplomat&#8217; Tit-for-Tat Game"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a class=\"highslide\" onclick=\"return vz.expand(this)\" href=\"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/Flag-Pins-Iran-Kuwait.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-6001\" title=\"Flag-Pins-Iran-Kuwait\" src=\"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/Flag-Pins-Iran-Kuwait-e1302689104577.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"498\" height=\"319\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/Flag-Pins-Iran-Kuwait-e1302689104577.jpg 498w, https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/Flag-Pins-Iran-Kuwait-e1302689104577-145x92.jpg 145w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 498px) 100vw, 498px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Amid spiking tensions between the states on either side of the Gulf and in the aftermath of Kuwait <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rferl.org\/content\/kuwait_iran_spying_ring\/3542780.html\">expelling <\/a>three Iranian diplomats found guilty of spying, Iran <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ft.com\/cms\/s\/0\/ad907354-6373-11e0-bd7f-00144feab49a.html?ftcamp=rss#axzz1JILUrrPD\">retaliated <\/a>by expelling an undisclosed number of Kuwaiti diplomats in return. This kind of tit-for-tat expulsion is the norm in these circumstances. Yet a Kuwaiti MP seems to have taken it all rather badly. Indeed, he <a href=\"http:\/\/gulfnews.com\/news\/gulf\/kuwait\/kuwait-mp-calls-for-all-iranian-diplomats-to-be-expelled-1.790025?localLinksEnabled=false&amp;utm_source=Feeds&amp;utm_medium=RSS&amp;utm_term=News_RSS_feed&amp;utm_content=1.790025&amp;utm_campaign=Kuwait_MP_calls_for_all_Iranian_diplomats_to_be_expelled\">condemned <\/a>the Iranian Government for violating all diplomatic traditions and norms and good neighbourly relations.<\/p>\n<p>I wonder what Kuwait would have done had Iran started this episode and (unjustly, of course) expelled a few of their diplomats. Would Kuwait have taken the higher road? I think not.<\/p>\n<p>Still the Kuwaiti MP in question, Mubarak Al Waalan, in a clear, calm and assertive attempt to thoroughly worsen relations further, suggested in a petulant, teenage manner that Kuwait ought to expel all Iranian diplomats. That\u2019d learn \u2018em good, I\u2019m sure.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>DAVID ROBERTS: It&#8217;s not the best of times between Iran and several of its neighbours at the moment.  The rhetoric is rising and several members of the Kuwaiti parliament are joining in with gusto.   <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":6001,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[82,60],"tags":[18306,3553,18315,6049],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5999"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5999"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5999\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6001"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5999"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5999"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5999"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}