Kuwait says emir in good health after recovering from ‘setback’
Comment comes after visiting Iranian foreign minister said he was praying for the ruler’s ‘speedy recovery’.
Kuwait’s 90-year-old ruling emir has recovered after an unspecified medical “setback”, state media reported on Sunday.
Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah underwent medical tests and the results were good, the state-run KUNA news agency said without elaborating.
It appeared Kuwait was responding to comments earlier on Sunday by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who said: “Praying for emir’s speedy recovery.”
The emir was seen in public last week during prayers and appeared in good health.
Prior to KUNA’s report late on Sunday, there had been no word on the emir’s health in official media or Kuwaiti newspapers.
Sheikh Sabah had a pacemaker fitted in 2000 and he underwent successful urinary tract surgery in the United States in August 2007.
Sheikh Sabah has ruled Kuwait since January 2006. He has pushed for diplomacy to solve regional issues, such as the ongoing boycott of Qatar by four Arab nations, and hosted major donor conferences for war-torn nations like Iraq and Syria.