ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Abu Dhabi announced on Monday that it had dismantled a “terrorist organization,” arresting more than two dozen individuals linked to the Wilayat al-Faqih - Guardianship of the Jurist - doctrine associated with Iran. The suspects are accused of operating a “secret organization” with allegiance to external entities and of activities aimed at undermining national unity and stability.
The state-run Emirati News Agency (WAM) on Monday published images of 27 individuals whom Abu Dhabi’s State Security Department (SSD) identified as members of a “terrorist organization” engaged in “covert activities aimed at undermining national unity and destabilizing security through the planning of systematic terrorist and sabotage operations” within the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The SSD added that “investigations revealed that the group is linked to the Wilayat al-Faqih in Iran” - the foundational political-religious doctrine of the Islamic Republic which holds that, in the absence of the Twelfth Shiite Imam, authority over the state should rest with the most qualified Islamic jurist. Enshrined in Iran’s constitution, this doctrine positions the country’s supreme leader as both the highest political authority and the guardian of its religious order; that role has since early March been held by Mojtaba Khamenei.
Moreover, investigations found that members of the organization “adopted extremist terrorist ideologies and beliefs that threaten internal security,” and carried out “recruitment and mobilization operations through secret meetings, based on a coordinated plan with external parties, with the aim of reaching sensitive positions,” WAM added.
The “clandestine meetings in and outside” of the UAE reportedly involved “terrorist members and suspicious groups,” with the aim of “spreading misleading ideas among Emirati youth and recruiting them for the benefit of external loyalties,” as well as “inciting against the country’s foreign policy and internal measures” and “collecting funds through unofficial means and transferring them to suspicious external sides,” according to the SSD.
The charges against the members include “establishing and running a secret organization within the state, pledging allegiance to external entities, and harming national unity and social stability,” WAM said, adding that Abu Dhabi’s security authorities reaffirmed their commitment to countering “any threats to public security” and urged citizens and residents to report any suspicious activities through official channels to strengthen security and stability.
The development comes as the UAE has since late February been caught in the crosshairs of the Iran-Israel-US war.
The US and Israel launched a coordinated military campaign against Iran on February 28 that ended with a Pakistan-brokered two-week truce last week. US Central Command (CENTCOM) reported that during the war, its forces struck more than 13,000 targets across Iran, while Israel said it struck over 4,000 additional targets.
For its part, Tehran carried out thousands of drone and missile strikes across the Middle East, targeting alleged US assets - particularly in Gulf Arab states - as well as launching retaliatory attacks against Israel.
Abu Dhabi’s defense ministry reported in early April that it had intercepted nearly 2,900 aerial threats launched by Iran against its territory during the six-week war, killing more than a dozen people and injuring over 220 others in the UAE, it added.
Amid the escalation, the UAE in early March recalled its ambassador to Iran, Saif Mohammed Al Zaabi, and closed its embassy in Tehran over what the Emirati foreign ministry described as a “flagrant violation of national sovereignty” and a “clear breach of international law and the Charter of the United Nations.”
Despite this, Emirati Vice President and Deputy Prime Minister Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Wednesday held a phone call with Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf to discuss efforts to de-escalate regional tensions, Emirati state media reported.
The call marked the most significant diplomatic contact between the two countries since the six-week Iran conflict.
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