Saudi officials have detained another 10 suspects in an Iran-linked spy investigation that Riyhad announced last March. Authorities had arrested 18 people. They later released one. That makes 27 total:

“Initial investigation carried out by the authorities led to the detention of 10 others for involvement in spying activities,” state television news channel al-Ekhbariya reported, citing the Interior Ministry. It said the new group includes eight Saudis, a Lebanese and a Turk… All of the Saudis arrested in March were members of the kingdom’s Shi’ite Muslim minority, leaders of that community said.

The announcement comes days after Bahrain blasted Tehran for “flagrant interference.” Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hussain Amir-Abdollahian had demanded that Manama apologize for a police search of the house of Shiite scholar Eisa Qassim , and had added threats for good measure:

The official was reacting to a statement by Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hussain Amir-Abdollahian in which he criticised a search operation conducted by the police in the house of Eisa Qassim, a leading religious scholar, in Duraz, a village west of the capital Manama. “If you do not apologise for this improper act, you should expect an unexpected reaction,” the Iranian official was quoted as saying by Fars News Agency.

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) subsequently echoed Bahrain’s condemnation of Amir-Abdollahian’s comments.

The incidents come amid deepening Arab concerns that Iranian nuclear weapons acquisition will provide Tehran with immunity to press its regional territorial claims and to undermine stability in neighboring Sunni countries. The former encompass, among other things, the entire nation of Bahrain. The latter are now brought up regularly in GCC statements slamming Iran for fomenting unrest. 

The U.S.’s Arab allies have been demanding action from Washington. Wikileaks cables show that Saudi officials privately urged the U.S. to attack Iran as far back as 2010. Two years later the United Arab Emirates Ambassador to the United States said publicly stated that the benefits to bombing Iran outweighed the costs. Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal recently emphasized that open-ended negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program were unacceptable to the Kingdom.

[Photo: channelnewsasia.com]