Bahrain says it arrested 15 persons over links to Iran

Bahrain said on Wednesday it detained 15 people accused of having links to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The move was intended "to safeguard national security" and was "based on intelligence investigations and security reports concerning those previously arrested in the case of Iranian agents in Bahrain," the state-run Bahrain News Agency reported, citing the Interior Ministry.

"They are identified as field operatives who were carrying out incitement instructions by attempting to influence citizens, particularly youth and adolescents, with the aim of pushing them into engaging in criminal acts," it said.

Legal procedures are being completed against those arrested, while investigations continue into others suspected of involvement, the report said.

The move comes after Bahrain's Defense Force said it intercepted and destroyed three Iranian missiles and a number of drones that were targeting "civilian" sites in the kingdom.

Regional tensions have escalated since late February after the US and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran, killing more than 3,000 people, including then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several senior military commanders and government officials. Tehran, in retaliation, targeted Israel and Gulf countries that host US bases and closed the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for global shipping.

A Pakistan-brokered ceasefire took effect on April 8, and efforts to reach a broader agreement have continued since then.