	kuwait rejects iranian spy boat charges kuwait a target of iranian anger over the emirate s backing for iraq in the gulf war today rejected charges that fishing vessels seized recently by iran were spy boats there are no bases of truth to the contents of the iranian accusation on the nature of the operations of the vessels recently taken into custody by iran these vessels were out fishing the foreign ministry said in a statement it said iranian charge d affaires mohammad baqeri was summoned by the ministry yesterday to confer with foreign undersecretary suleiman majed al shaheen the iranian news agency irna said on sunday iran had seized seven kuwaiti speed boats and detained their crew who confessed to spying for iraq under the cover of fishing it said the boats were intercepted in the khur abdullah waterway which separates kuwait and iraq s faw peninsula at the head of the gulf captured by iran last year the kuwaiti response came as iranian envoys toured gulf arab states saying responsibility for security and stability in the waterway was a regional matter a u s senate team was scheduled today to meet kuwait s crown prince and prime minister sheikh saad al abdulla al sabah and the defence and oil ministers today s foreign ministry statement carried by the kuwait news agency kuna said the recent detention of kuwaiti fishing vessels by iran was not the first tehran in the past had held back a number of vessels kuwait had sought to release through diplomatic contacts it said however kuwait is perplexed that this time the iranian charges are accompanied by accusations that the vessels were undertaking espionage activities it said shaheen condemned the detentions and accusations and asked tehran to free all fishing boats and sailors held by iran the statement said reuter 
