Kuwait says Iran to free nationals held since mid-Nov

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Kuwaiti media said last month that Iranian authorities had arrested two nationals working for a private television station at a town in southern Iran. It said the two were held on suspicion of spying and illegal entry, charges denied by the Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry.

KUNA quoted a Foreign Ministry source as saying that Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled al-Sabah had urged his Iranian counterpart, Ali Akbar Salehi, during a telephone conversation to help free the Kuwaitis.

"The minister, Salehi, promised to redouble his efforts, asserting that they (Kuwaitis) will be freed within days," KUNA said.

Relations between Shi'ite Muslim Iran and its Sunni Arab neighbours have been strained following unrest in Bahrain by majority Shi'ites, which Manama had blamed on Tehran.

Tensions also increased after the United States accused Iran of planning to assassinate the Saudi ambassador in Washington

Kuwait earlier this year accused Iran of planting spy cells in its territory. A Kuwaiti court earlier this year sentenced three men - two Iranians and a Kuwaiti - to death for being part of an alleged Iranian spy ring in a case that has strained relations between Kuwait and Tehran.

Iran has denied the spying allegations and said it did not interfere in Kuwait's internal affairs. (Reporting by Sami Aboudi; Editing by Louise Ireland)

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