Kuwait denies citizens arrested by Iran spies

Kuwait on Sunday denied that the two Kuwaiti citizens who were arrested by Iran on suspicious of espionage were spies. The country confirmed the two citizens were working on a social program for a private Kuwaiti TV channel, the official KUNA news agency reported. Iran's Al-Alam TV reported Sunday that Iran's security guards detained the two Kuwaitis in the southwestern city of Abadan and said they were carrying some espionage equipment. Relations between Kuwait and Iran soured after a Kuwaiti criminal court in March sentenced to death two Iranians and one Kuwaiti on charges of spying for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, which was denied by Iran. The scenario led to the tit-for-tat expulsion of ambassadors and diplomats, who returned to their posts two months later after bilateral efforts to soothe tensions.