Iranian Kuwaitis or Persian Kuwaitis (locally referred to as Ajam) are non-Arab Kuwaitis of ethnic Iranian origins, who have migrated and settled in Kuwait since its formation and were consequently naturalized. Some still retain cultural ties to Iran, through food, music, and language, while others have assimilated fully and are culturally no different than their Arab Kuwaiti counterparts.
Most of the Iranian Kuwaitis are not recent immigrants, but have lived in Kuwait for many generations. Iranian Kuwaitis mostly come from the Iranian provinces of Khuzestan, Bushehr, Lorestan and Baluchistan.
Today, Kuwait claims to have the highest percentage of citizens of Iranian origin in the Arabian Peninsula. The Iranian Kuwaiti community has produced a sizeable number of well-known individuals, notable in many fields, including business and commerce, thus contributing significantly to the general economic development of the country. Nowadays, they live predominantly in Al Rumaithiya, Mushrif, and Salwa.
Iranian Kuwaitis are of diverse ethnic backgrounds, the predominant being Lurs, who normally self-designate themselves as 'Tarakma', followed by a sizable ethnic Persian and Balochi community. The Balochi community is shia muslims unlike Balochi in Baluchistan.
Iranian Kuwaitis are notable for many monuments in Kuwait, such as the Marafi Hussainia in Kuwait City, which was built as a worship place for Shi'a Muslims. The building was founded by descendents of an Iranian merchant better known as Marafi Behbahani; he was one of the first Iranian immigrants to settle in Kuwait, in the late 18th century.