Iran on Sunday categorically denied responsiblity for the operations of a recently exposed spy cell in Saudi Arabia and denied involvement in the affair.
“This is without any foundation,” Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said of the suggestion that the spy cell had links to Tehran. “It is a scenario that is being repeated… for domestic consumption,” he asserted.
On Tuesday, the Saudi Interior Ministry announced that 16 Saudis, an Iranian and a Lebanese citizen were arrested on charges of espionage.
According to the ministry, the suspects had “gathered information on vital installations which they provided to the country [that they were working for].”
Although the Saudis did not specifically point a finger at Tehran, the involvement of an Iranian national in the affair raised suspicions that the country behind the spy cell’s operations was, in fact, Iran.
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