Bahrain arrests 5 for passing ‘sensitive information’ to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards

ISTANBUL

Bahrain’s Interior Ministry said Sunday that authorities arrested five people accused of collecting and passing “precise and sensitive information” to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), while a sixth suspect had fled the country.

In a statement, the ministry said the six had collected and transferred “precise and sensitive information” to the IRGC through “terrorist elements in Iran, and the recruitment of terrorist elements to work in carrying out terrorist plots against” Bahrain.

The ministry said the plots aimed to “undermine state sovereignty, security institutions and economic entities, spread fear and terror among citizens and residents and endanger the security and safety of the country."

According to the statement, one of the suspects admitted receiving intensive training in camps run by the IRGC, including training on smuggling individuals and recruiting members “to participate in carrying out terrorist operations.”

The ministry added that the suspects photographed and gathered coordinates of several vital sites and hotels and sent the information to the IRGC, “which facilitated the targeting of those sites by the heinous Iranian aggression."

There was no immediate comment from Iran on the Bahraini statement.

Bahrain said early Sunday that its air defenses had intercepted and destroyed 125 missiles and 211 drones targeting the country since the start of Iranian attacks on Feb. 28.

The US and Israel have been carrying out military attacks on Iran since Feb. 28, killing more than 1,200 people, including Iran’s then–Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and top military officials.

Tehran has responded with missile and drone strikes toward Israel, Iraq and Gulf countries home to US military assets. Some of these attacks have caused casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure, including airports, ports and buildings.

*Writing by Khaled Badr