Kuwait’s Minister of Education, Jalal al-Tabtabaei, issued a ministerial order on Thursday revoking the educational licence of the country’s only Iranian private school and ordering its closure. A ministry source confirmed the decision to Agence France-Presse, and the official text, seen by AFP, states that the licence is cancelled and the school is to be shut. The order, published in a ministry statement carried by the Kuwait Times and An-Nahar, invokes the laws regulating private education, reports from the General Administration of Private Education, and the need to protect the public interest.

The decision suspends the admission of any new pupils from the 2026/2027 academic year and instructs parents to transfer their children to other schools before that year begins. The ministry said the General Administration of Private Education would coordinate with relevant bodies to ensure a smooth transition. No official reason for the closure was provided by the ministry source, and the statement does not mention the security situation. Iranian officials and the school administration had not reacted publicly at the time the reports were published.

The move comes after months of Iranian missile and drone attacks on Kuwait, which hosts US military facilities. According to reports from AFP and Iran International, Kuwaiti airspace and territory were struck repeatedly during the regional war, with one drone attack hitting Kuwait International Airport in June, causing extensive damage to the passenger terminal, one fatality and dozens of injuries. Strikes on power and desalination plants last month forced authorities to ask residents to ration electricity. Kuwait has condemned the attacks as violations of its sovereignty and international law.

The closure extends a pattern of Gulf states restricting Iranian-linked institutions. In March, the United Arab Emirates ordered the closure of an Iranian state-linked hospital in Dubai and at least four Iranian schools, with an Emirati official telling AFP that “certain institutions directly linked to the Iranian regime and IRGC will be closed under targeted measures” after they were found to violate local laws. The Kuwaiti order does not cite any such link, and the ministry has not indicated whether further measures against Iranian entities are planned. Implementation of the school closure is to be completed before the start of the 2026/2027 academic year.