TEHRAN, July 20 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Foreign Ministry on Thursday categorically denied that a number of people in Kuwait were spying for the Islamic republic, semi-official Fars news agency reported.
On Thursday, Iran summoned the Kuwaiti charge d'affaires, Falah al-Hajraf, to protest the Arab state's restrictions on the Iranian mission, the Foreign Ministry Spokesman, Bahram Qasemi, was quoted as saying.
This is unfortunate that the Kuwaiti officials have alleged "baseless charges" against the Islamic republic, Qasemi told al-Hajraf.
Kuwait shut down Iranian cultural mission on Thursday and ordered 15 Iranian diplomats to leave the country.
The move came after Kuwait convicted a group of men, one Iranian and the rest Kuwaiti, of "spying for Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group" last year.
"The Islamic republic had no links with the case, and this has been announced to the Kuwaiti officials earlier," Qasemi said.
Tehran preserves the right to reduce the diplomatic mission of Kuwait in Tehran, he added.
