World Bulletin / News Desk

A court in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has sentenced seven people to jail in the so-called "Hezbollah Spies" case, according to the UAE’s official WAM news agency.

The Federal Supreme Court’s state security division slapped a UAE citizen and two Lebanese nationals with life sentences; an Iraqi and a Lebanese national with 15-year jail terms; and a UAE citizen and an Egyptian national with 10-year terms, the news agency reported Monday evening.

The seven were sentenced after being convicted of "delivering classified information about oil production" and "attempting to form a Hezbollah branch in the UAE without government permission".

In March, the Gulf Cooperation Council -- which, along with Saudi Arabia, includes the UAE -- formally designated Hezbollah a "terrorist group".