US, Iran Jockey for Position in New Emir’s Kuwait

Kuwait’s new emir, Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, who last week succeeded his late half-brother, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, met separately on Sunday with US Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. Esper told the emir that Sabah “will be remembered as a great man and a special friend to the United States,” while Zarif passed a message from President Hassan Rouhani expressing confidence that “as in the past,” the two countries “will see a growing expansion of friendly and fraternal ties.” Sabah died in the US state of Minnesota last Tuesday at the age of 91 following months of medical treatment. He had managed to balance delicate ties between neighbors Saudi Arabia and Iran while maintaining a strong relationship with the US. The new emir, a relative spring chicken at 83, is expected to uphold the policy of promoting regional rapprochement.