Iran denied on Wednesday claims by Saudi Arabia that alleged spies it arrested were linked to the Islamic republic, and criticised the kingdom for publicising such allegations. Foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Araqchi said the reports were "false," maintaining Iran's position of completely rejecting the accusations. On Tuesday, Saudi authorities said they had detained 10 more suspects, bringing to 28 the number of people accused of spying for Iran, and one of whom is Iranian. They said the ring had "direct links" to Iran's intelligence services and was busted in March.

Saudi authorities have arrested 10 more suspects in an alleged Iranian spy ring unveiled two months ago, an interior ministry spokesman said on Tuesday. The eight Saudis, a Lebanese and a Turk bring the number of people arrested to 28, the official SPA news agency quoted the spokesman as saying. However, a Lebanese arrested in March has since been released. "The results of investigations by security services have led to the arrest of the other 10 involved in spying for this cell," the spokesman said.

The United States on Monday denounced what it called a rising tide of both anti-Muslim and anti-Jewish sentiment around the world as it urged all nations to ensure freedom of religion. In a wide-ranging annual report on religious freedom, the State Department voiced alarm at growing attacks against minority groups and painted a bleak picture in nations such as China, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea and Saudi Arabia. Secretary of State John Kerry, while acknowledging that the US record was not perfect, called religious freedom a "universal value" as he presented the report.

An Arab League committee on Syria will hold an emergency meeting on Thursday ahead of an international peace conference on ending the country's civil war, the bloc's deputy leader said on Sunday. The foreign ministers of Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Oman, Qatar and Sudan would discuss a US-Russian push for a conference aimed at finding a political solution to the Syria conflict, Ahmed Ben-Hilli told reporters. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates would also join the meeting "to follow up on developments in Syria in light of the US-Russian understanding," he said.