Kuwait charged 24 men with spying for Iran and Hezbollah in order “to carry out aggressive acts” against the state, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported Tuesday.

The men were charged with “spying for the Islamic republic of Iran and Hezbollah to carry out aggressive acts against the State of Kuwait” by smuggling in and assembling explosives, as well as possessing firearms and ammunition, the statement said.

They were also charged with “carrying out acts that would undermine the unity and territorial integrity” of Kuwait, and of possessing eavesdropping devices, it said.

Two other men were also charged in the same case, one with possessing illegal weapons and another with failing to inform authorities about the arms.

Kuwaiti authorities said that the men were associated with a “terror cell” that had been broken up last month. At the time, authorities said they had seized “large amounts of weapons, ammunition and explosives.” One of the suspects is Iranian and the rest are Kuwaiti nationals. Three who remain at large were charged in absentia.

A bombing last week in Bahrain that killed one officer and injured seven people prompted a senior Kuwaiti parliamentarian to declare Iran the “true enemy” of the Gulf states. The explosives used in the blast were said to be similar to those seized by Bahraini officials in July and are believed to have originated in Iran.

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