![Saudi security forces walk along a pier at the docks of Ras al-Khair port, about 185 kilometres north of Dammam in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province overlooking the Gulf, on December 11th, 2019. [Giuseppe Cacace/AFP]](/cnmi_am/images/2020/02/25/22681-saudi-forces-iran-700_496.webp)
A Saudi criminal court on Tuesday (February 25th) sentenced one citizen to death and seven others to jail on charges of treason and spying for Iran, state television reported.
The Saudi sentenced to death was accused of "betraying his country and offering intelligence to Iran", Al-Ekhbariya television said on Twitter.
Seven others were sentenced to a total jail term of 58 years for having "associated and co-operated with people working in the embassy of Iran", it said, without providing further details.
Tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran have risen in recent months after a series of attacks on oil tankers in the Gulf and Saudi oil installations, incidents that roiled global energy markets last year.
Both Washington and Riyadh have accused Iran of being behind those attacks, a charge denied by Tehran.
