The five men are accused of belonging to a "terrorist group" with ties to the intelligence services of a foreign state, a judiciary spokesman said, quoted by state news agency BNA.

He said the five were to be "sent to Iran to receive military training," notably with the elite Revolutionary Guards.

On Saturday, the Interior Ministry said a cell had been broken up that was planning to attack the ministry, the Saudi embassy in Manama and the causeway which links the archipelago state to Saudi Arabia.