Prominent opposition figure and former member of Kuwait's National Assembly Musallam Al-Barrak harshly criticised Jordanian King Abdullah II earlier this week, describing him as an "agent" of Zionism who had sent mercenaries into Kuwait to help local rulers put down a political demonstration.

On Sunday, as Kuwait was being rocked by unprecedented popular protests, Al-Barrack declared in a statement: "Those mercenaries sent by their Zionist king, the Jordanian king, are the sons of those who betrayed Kuwait in 1990," in reference to Jordan's stated support for Saddam Hussein's 1990 invasion of the oil-rich country.

On Monday, Al-Barrack appeared to confirm earlier media reports that some 3,500 Jordanian troops had arrived in Kuwait to help quell ongoing popular demonstrations.

Jamaan Al-Harbash, also a former Kuwait National Assembly member, corroborated Al-Barrack's claims about the deployment of Jordanian forces in Kuwait.

The Jordanian government, meanwhile, has studiously avoided any official reply to Al-Barrack's accusations. One source at Jordan's foreign ministry, however, reportedly described the allegations as "petty, vulgar words."

Jordanian MP Attia Khalil, for his part, described Al-Barrack's statements as "racist, hateful and reflective of the lack of stability in Kuwait."

Al-Barrack's statements nevertheless appear to support claims made by one anonymous Twitter user – who goes by the username 'Mujtahidd' – who caused a stir recently after alleging that Kuwait had formed a pact with Jordan, paying the latter $6 billion in return for sending troops to put down local opposition protests.