KUWAIT CITY Sept 20, 2026 – Kuwait’s Ministry of Education has revoked the educational license of the country’s only Iranian private school and ordered it closed, directing the institution to halt new admissions for the 2026–2027 academic year and requiring enrolled students to transfer elsewhere.
Education Minister Eng. Sayed Jalal Al-Tabtabaei issued the ministerial decision on August 6, 2026. The ministry said the move was based on laws and regulations governing private education, reports from the General Administration of Private Education, and considerations of the public interest. The decision cancels the school’s previously renewed license and tasks the private education administration with overseeing implementation, including notifying parents to complete transfers before the new term to avoid disruption to students’ studies.
Kuwaiti authorities did not publicly specify additional reasons beyond regulatory compliance. A ministry source told AFP no official explanation was given for targeting the sole Iranian school. The closure occurs against the backdrop of the 2026 Middle East war, which began after a U.S.-Israeli strike on Iran and was followed by Iranian missile and drone attacks on Gulf states hosting U.S. forces, including Kuwait. Those strikes hit infrastructure such as power and desalination plants and, at times, civilian and military sites.
Similar measures against Iranian-linked institutions occurred earlier in the United Arab Emirates, where authorities closed Iranian schools and a hospital they described as tied to the Iranian government. Broader Gulf actions have included arrests related to online content supporting Iran during the conflict.
Iranian officials have condemned the Kuwait decision as illegal and politically motivated. On September 20, Mohammad Salimi, head of the Center for International Affairs and Overseas Schools at Iran’s Ministry of Education, said governments “aligned with the Zionist-American enemy” had shut Iranian schools in both Kuwait and the UAE. He noted that Iranian schools in the Emirates were closed the previous year and that Tehran continues negotiations to resume operations in Dubai. Iran currently operates 71 schools across 34 countries, he added.
The timing of the Iranian comments, weeks after the August order and shortly before the new academic year, has drawn renewed attention to the case. Kuwaiti officials have framed the action strictly as enforcement of private-education rules and protection of the public interest, while emphasizing coordination to help students move to other schools without interruption.
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