Iran arrested a dozen members of the Baha'i faith, accuses them of links to Israel

Iran has arrested 12 members of the Baha'i religious minority, accusing them of links with the Islamic republic's arch foe Israel, state media reported late on Saturday.

The Baha'is, Iran's largest non-Muslim minority, follow the teachings of Baha'ullah, born in Persia in 1817, whom they consider a prophet and founder of their monotheistic faith.

Iran brands Baha'is "heretics" and often accuses them of being spies linked to Israel, as their world headquarters are located in the northern Israeli city of Haifa, due to the exile of a Baha'i leader well before the state of Israel was established.

"The General Directorate of Intelligence in Mazandaran province has identified and arrested 12 members of the Bahai Zionist organisation in different cities of the province," reported Irib News, the state television website.

"Two of the leaders of this spy organisation were trained in Bayt-al-Adl," the Baha'is' Universal House of Justice in Haifa, it said about those arrested in the northern province.

Iran, where the Shia branch of Islam is the state religion, recognises minority faiths including Christianity, Judaism and Zoroastrianism, but not Baha'ism, with followers estimated to number 300,000 in Iran.

Iran's intelligence ministry had last announced in early August that it had arrested Baha'is suspected of spying and of working illegally to spread their religion.

They had been instructed to "infiltrate educational environments at different levels, especially kindergartens across the country", the ministry said then.

In December 2018, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution calling on Iran to end human rights violations against minority religions including the Baha'is, citing "harassment, intimidation, persecution, arbitrary arrests and detention" among other breaches.

The Baha'i faith is a relatively modern monotheistic religion with spiritual roots dating back to the early 19th century in Iran, promoting the unity of all people and equality.

The Baha'i community claims to have more than seven million followers worldwide.