MANAMA: Bahrain said on Wednesday it had dismantled an Iran-linked “terror” cell that was planning attacks in the kingdom, amid a growing diplomatic crisis between Gulf Arab states and Tehran.

The cell was allegedly linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and Lebanon’s Hizbollah militia and planning to carry out a “series of dangerous bombings” on the kingdom, an interior ministry statement said.

Members of the “secret terrorist organisation” have been identified and many arrested, said the statement on the official BNA news agency, adding that others remain at large.

Among those arrested were 33-year-old twins Ali and Mohammed Fakhrawi identified as leaders of the group.

The twins have travelled to Iran on several occasions to obtain financial and logistical support, relying on their relations with “terrorist elements” that have strong ties with the Revolutionary Guard and Hizbollah, the statement said.

Ali Fakhro and two other suspects also met in 2012 with Hizbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah and his deputy who offered them “$20,000 in support of their organisation,” Bahrain said.

Meanwhile, Oman on Wednesday said it regretted the “unacceptable” attacks on Saudi missions in Iran but did not announce any measures against Tehran.

The Omani reaction comes four days after protesters torched Riyadh’s embassy and its consulate in Iran over Saudi Arabia’s execution of Sheikh Nimr Al Nimr, a prominent Shiite cleric accused of fomenting sedition in the kingdom.

The sultanate “expressed its deep regret” over the attacks, which it described as “unacceptable” in a foreign ministry statement published by the official ONA news agency.

Oman stressed the “need to find new rules that prohibit any form of interference in the internal affairs of other countries.”

Separately, Jordan summoned Iran’s ambassador in Amman on Wednesday to condemn an attack on the embassy of Saudi Arabia in Tehran and “Iranian interference” in Arab affairs, Jordanian state news agency Petra reported.

Djibouti cut diplomatic relations with Iran on Wednesday, its foreign minister said.

In Yet another development Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim Al Jaafari said on Wednesday that Iraq will mediate to try to resolve the diplomatic row between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

He was speaking in a joint press conference with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif broadcast live on Iranian state television.

Agencies