Kuwait and Saudi Arabia have "exclusive rights" in the Durra gas field in the Arabian Gulf, Kuwait Oil Minister Saad Al Barrak said on Sunday, and he called on Iran to validate its claim to the field by demarcating its own maritime borders first.
Iran has previously said it has a stake in the field and called a Saudi-Kuwaiti agreement signed last year to develop it "illegal".
"Until this moment, this is an exclusive right of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia in the Durra field, and whoever has a claim must start demarcating the borders. And if it has a right, it will take it according to the rules of international law," Al Barrak said in an interview with Saudi state-run Al Ekhbariya television.
"The other side has claims that are not based on a clear demarcation of the maritime borders," he added, referring to Iran.
Al Barrak's comments echo those of Saudi Arabia, which said last week that the kingdom and Kuwait exclusively own natural wealth in the Gulf's maritime "Divided Area".
Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson said on Monday that Tehran was following up on this issue with Kuwait in bilateral talks, without further elaboration.
Saudi Arabia also renewed its call to Iran to start negotiations with Riyadh and Kuwait on the demarcation of the eastern border of the area, Saudi state news agency SPA said.
(Reuters - Reporting by Hatem Maher and Muhammad Al Gebaly; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Leslie Adler)