KUWAIT CITY, June 11: The defence minister of Kuwait, a major US ally, said on Monday that it would not allow the American military to stage an attack on Iran from its territory.

Asked if Washington had made such a request, Sheik Jaber Al Mubarak Al Sabah told reporters: “It hasn’t asked, and even if it did we will not allow anybody to use our territories.”

Like other Arab states in the Persian Gulf region, Kuwait calls for a peaceful solution to the nuclear standoff between Iran and the West. Kuwait, which is located across the Gulf from Iran, fears Iranian reprisal if Washington decides to use force to destroy the Islamic republic’s nuclear facilities, which it suspects are aimed at making nuclear weapons.

Despite United Nations sanctions, Tehran has refused to suspend its controversial programme, insisting it will be used for peaceful purposes.

This small oil-rich country has been an ally of Washington since the US-led 1991 Gulf War that liberated it from a seven-month Iraqi occupation under Saddam Hussein. It was the launch pad for the 2003 invasion of Iraq that toppled Hussein, and it remains a vital logistics base for coalition forces serving there.—AP