The UAE State Security Department arrested 27 men it accused of terrorist activities and links to Iran.

There have been similar arrests across the Gulf since the US-Israel war with Iran began — including five men detained in the UAE last month, said to have been working with Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah — but this is the largest of its kind to date.

Emirati authorities said the latest group to be arrested was preparing to carry out sabotage and other terrorist activities aimed at undermining national unity, adding that they had held meetings inside and outside the country with unnamed “terrorist elements and suspicious organisations” and tried to recruit young Emiratis.

This month, the UAE banned most Iranians from entering or transiting the country. On several occasions in recent years, the UAE has rounded up large groups of people and accused them of terrorist offenses; their trials have been criticized by human rights groups over unfair processes and convictions.