Iran ‘plants spy devices on Saudi border’

Iraqi security services have discovered Iranian listening devices placed in different parts of southern Iraq near the border with Saudi Arabia, a Kuwaiti daily reported yesterday.

“The Iraqi authorities are convinced that the purpose of these devices, which can be used for eavesdropping and spying on mobile phones and wireless internet services, is to cover the Iraqi-Saudi border and monitor communications,” security sources told Al Jareeda. “The devices include radars to monitor aircraft movements,” said the sources that the Kuwaiti daily did not name.

Al Jareeda added that Iran’s Revolutionary Guards had installed sophisticated radar, surveillance and communication equipment covering all the routes from Iran to Basra, Najaf and Karbala in Iraq, and linked to a wider network on Iran’s southern coast, under the pretext of ensuring the security of millions of Iranians who are participating in religious rites in Iraq.

“These devices can cover the territory of Saudi Arabia and Gulf countries as well, and as there is tension in the region, Tehran will not dismantle them and will put pressure on Baghdad to keep them,” the sources said. “The Iranians have started the installation of a network of electricity and communication lines extending from Iran to Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. There are currently negotiations between the Iranian government and the governments of these countries for a formal approval of the network.”