KUWAIT CITY - Kuwait is warning Iran not to meddle in the Arab nation's affairs in an escalating dispute over an alleged spy ring.

Kuwait's state news agency KUNA says the message by relayed Thursday in a meeting between a senior Kuwaiti official and Iran's top diplomatic envoy in Kuwait.

Tensions have risen in the past year over Kuwait's accusations that Tehran was behind an espionage ring that included surveillance of US and Kuwaiti military sites. Local media reported a Kuwait court issued sentences this week in the case, including three death sentences.

Iran has denied any links to the alleged spy ring.