Al Arabiya: 32 Individuals Accused of Spying for Iran in Saudi Arabia

The Al Arabiya news network reported on Sunday that a special criminal court in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, has accused 32 individuals, including an Iranian citizen and an Afghan citizen, of espionage for Iranian security services. The report published on the website of this non-governmental Saudi television stated that the Riyadh special criminal court released a list of charges brought against these individuals by the Saudi Bureau of Investigation and Public Prosecution on Sunday. The report does not mention the timing or manner of the arrest of these individuals, but states that the accused include thirty Saudi citizens from the Qatif region in the east of the country, along with one Iranian and one Afghan. The report notes that the Saudi prosecution has leveled six charges against the detainees, including meetings some of them had with Ayatollah Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic. According to the prosecution's statement, this meeting took place in the presence of some Iranian security forces, and it supported protests and riots in the Qatif region. Establishing a spy group in collaboration with Iranian security forces, gathering 'important and dangerous information' related to military affairs, disclosing confidential information about defense strategies, and pursuing sabotage actions against the vital and economic interests of the country are among the other charges against these individuals. They are also accused of employing individuals who were employed by government facilities to spy on behalf of Iranian security forces and training them to send encrypted reports to the Iranian security apparatus via email using encryption software. Committing hostile actions against Saudi Arabia, betraying the country and its king, and possessing banned books and publications, as well as computer devices that could threaten Saudi security, are other charges listed by the Saudi prosecution. No further details regarding the identity of any of the accused have been released, and there is no report on the initial reactions of the governments of Iran and Saudi Arabia regarding this matter. Recently, the Saudi Gazette also claimed that four Iranian citizens would be tried in the country on charges of 'espionage' and 'terrorism.' This report, which did not reference many details, stated that these individuals were arrested in 2013 and 2014. The Qatif region in eastern Saudi Arabia is the main base of the country's Shia minority, and Saudi Arabia's execution of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, a prominent Shia cleric, had sparked protests in this region. The execution of this protesting cleric also met with a strong reaction from Iran, and at the same time, attacks by 'rogue individuals' on Saudi diplomatic sites in Tehran and Mashhad led to the severing of relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Following the severing of relations between the two countries, the U.S., Europe, and the United Nations expressed concern about the implications of escalating tensions in the region and its impact on the peace process in Syria, and some countries, including Pakistan, have expressed readiness to mediate to improve relations between the two countries. Meanwhile, Prince Turki al-Faisal emphasized the importance of dialogue between Iran and Saudi Arabia on Sunday. According to the Gulf news website, the former head of Saudi intelligence, speaking at a Beirut Institute meeting in Abu Dhabi, stated that we support the idea of regular dialogues between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Turki al-Faisal emphasized that bilateral dialogue between Iran and Saudi Arabia represents a very important momentum in the evolutionary process of the Middle East in geopolitical, social, and economic domains.