[6][3] Iran's foreign policy shifted with the election of more hardline Ahmadinejad in 2005, negatively influenced its relationship with the international community.

In 2014, Kuwait Foreign Undersecretary Khaled Al-Jarallah said its keen on developing "excellent and historical" relationship with Iran.

[4] In 2018, after U.S. President Donald Trump announced the United States withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal Kuwait opted to maintain formal ties with Iran[9] while Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates voiced strong support for the withdrawal.

[14] On July 27, 2023, Kuwait's Oil minister Saad Al Barrak announced plans to begin drilling for gas without first signing an agreement with Iran.

[15] On August 3, 2023, In an escalating feud with Iran, Kuwait along with Saudi Arabia announced that they have “exclusive ownership” of the natural resources in the disputed Durra offshore gas field.

Iranian Oil Minister Javad Owji stressed that Tehran will pursue its rights over the Durra-Arash gas field if there is “no willingness” from the other side to “reach an understanding.”[15] The same day Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Salem Abdullah al-Jaber Al-Sabah received an official invite to Iran during a meeting with Mohammad Totonchi, the Gulf state’s newly appointed Iranian ambassador.