New Delhi, Mar 4: Qatar has announced the arrest of ten alleged spy and sabotage cells said to be operating on behalf of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, according to a report by the BBC.
The state-run Qatar News Agency (QNA) said that 10 suspects had been detained. Seven were allegedly tasked with gathering intelligence on “vital and military facilities” in the country, while three others were assigned to carry out sabotage missions.
Quoting QNA, the BBC reported that during interrogation the suspects admitted links to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and confessed to being assigned espionage and sabotage operations. Authorities said they had seized coordinates of sensitive installations, communication devices and other technological equipment from the group.
The arrests come amid escalating regional tensions following joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran over the weekend. Tehran has since launched retaliatory attacks targeting US assets across the Gulf.
Qatar’s Ministry of Defence said it had detected the launch of three cruise missiles, 101 ballistic missiles and 39 drones towards its airspace since Saturday. All were intercepted and destroyed, officials said.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari told journalists that Doha was “surprised by these unjustified attacks”, adding that Iran had not notified Qatar in advance, reports BBC. He confirmed there had been attempts to target Hamad International Airport, but said the missiles were successfully intercepted and none reached the facility. Nearly 8,000 people were reportedly stranded due to airspace closures.
Meanwhile, neighbouring Oman, which had been mediating talks between Tehran and Washington before hostilities escalated, has renewed calls for a ceasefire. Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi said diplomatic options remained available to de-escalate the conflict.
