Bahrain has ordered the expulsion of an Iranian diplomat for alleged links to a spy ring in Kuwait, a statement from the Kingdom's news agency said late on Monday.

Bahrain's Foreign Ministry had summoned charge d'affaires Mehdi Islami to inform him that diplomat Hojjatullah Rahmani had 72 hours to leave 'based on his link to the spy cell in Kuwait.'

'Bahrain calls on Iran to desist from these serious violations of standards of international relations which are a threat to the security and stability of the region,' it said.

This month Kuwait expelled three Iranian diplomats for involvement in an alleged spy ring, prompting Tehran to order three Kuwaiti diplomats to leave Iran.

That was after a Kuwaiti court sentenced two Iranians and a Kuwaiti to death in March for involvement in espionage.

Bahrain, a US ally that hosts the US Fifth Fleet, has also begun the trial of two Iranians and a Bahraini on charges of spying for Iran's Revolutionary Guards.-Reuters