DUBAI: Dubai's top police official has warned of an “international plot” to overthrow the Gulf Arab countries' governments. Dahi Khalfan, who has been outspoken on his criticism of Islamic governments in the region and at the same time continues a crackdown of opposition activists in the United Arab Emirates. “There's an international plot against Gulf states in particular and Arab countries in general … This is preplanned to take over our fortunes,” Khalfan told reporters at a gathering late on Wednesday marking the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. “The bigger our sovereign wealth funds and the more money we put in the banks of Western countries, the bigger the plot to take over our countries … The brothers and their governments in Damascus and North Africa have to know that the Gulf is a red line, not only for Iran but also for the Brothers as well.” Almost all the detainees in the UAE since April are considered conservative Muslims and have been targeted since the Muslim Brotherhood came to power in Egypt and an Islamic group in Tunisia. Last week, UAE officials announced that authorities were investigating a foreign-linked group planning “crimes against the security of the state.” “I had no idea that there is this large number of Muslim Brotherhood in the Gulf states. We have to be alert and on guard because the wider these groups become, the higher probability there is for trouble,” Khalfan said on Wednesday. “We are aware that there are groups plotting to overthrow Gulf governments in the long term.” The UAE and Egypt have butted heads in recent weeks over statements from officials in the UAE warning of the Muslim Brotherhood's potential to “export” revolution to the region.
