Sao Paulo stop bars
I experienced this at Sao Paulo last night. We were cleared on to 09L with the lights off, but before we could begin to move, the red lights came back on. I asked Tower if they could turn off the red lights, and the reply was, "Oh, sorry about that, here you go." The lights went off and we taxied onto the runway.
Like Usedtofly says, if they are red, do not cross them. That would be a bad precedent not just for ATC, but also for us.
For the Kuwait concern, bring perhaps advising IATA's ME/NA group might also help?