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US not withdrawing from Kuwait, committed to its security

January 9, 2020 at 11:08 am

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (L) and Kuwait’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah al-Khalid al-Sabah give a joint press conference in Kuwait City on 20 March, 2019 [YASSER AL-ZAYYAT/AFP/Getty Images]

The US embassy in Kuwait said yesterday that America is committed to Kuwait’s security.

“That has not changed and will not change. The US Embassy in Kuwait continues to operate normally,” the embassy said in a statement.

The statement comes after the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) denied publishing news which cited Kuwaiti officials saying the US forces intend to immediately withdraw from the US base in the country, Camp Arifjan. KUNA said its Twitter account had been hacked.

“[KUNA] categorically denies reports it broadcast statements by Defence Minister Sheikh Ahmad Al-Mansour about withdrawal of US forces from Kuwait,” it said on Twitter. In a separate post, KUNA said the country’s information minister has formed an independent committee to investigate the agency’s Twitter account.

READ: Trump has no idea what he has done by killing Soleimani 

Earlier in the day, a post appeared on KUNA’s Twitter account citing Defence Minister Sheikh Ahmad Mansour Al Ahmad Al Sabah as saying that he had received an official letter from the Commander in Chief of a US military camp in Kuwait “declaring imminent withdrawal of all US military forces in three days”.

“Receiving such letter from Camp Arifjan was unexpected and we are communicating with US Department of defence for more details and information,” the now-deleted post said.

This comes amid heightened tensions between the US and Iran following the assassination of Iran’s Quds Force Commander, Qassem Soleimani, in an American drone strike in Iraq last week.

In retaliation, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards targeted Ain Al-Assad Air Base in Iraq, a facility jointly operated by US and Iraqi forces, with “tens of missiles”.