In a statement, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said the arrests were made under “baseless pretexts” and urged the UAE “to respect the rights and human dignity of individuals, refrain from retaliatory behaviour.”

On Monday, UAE authorities said the group arrested was attempting to recruit Emiratis and funnelling funds to “suspicious” foreign entities.

Relations between Iran and the UAE have been badly strained since the outbreak between Iran, the United States and Israel on February 28.

Iran accuses Gulf states of allowing US forces to carry out attacks from their territory, and launched missile and drone strikes against what it calls US interests in those countries throughout the war.Gulf states have repeatedly denied those accusations, saying even before the conflict that they would not allow their territory or airspace to be used to attack Iran.

They have since clamped down on what they say are cells linked to Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah.