Iran Strongly Denies Alleged Interference in Bahrain
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman categorically denied accusations raised by Bahrain’s foreign minister that the Islamic Republic is interfering in the internal affairs of the tiny Persian Gulf state.
In a statement on Sunday evening, Marziyeh Afkham called on Bahraini officials to seriously take care of their people’s civil demands instead of ignoring realities and making "baseless accusations".
She asked Manama to prepare the ground for serious talks by taking trust-building measures instead of adopting police and security approaches.
Her remarks came after the Bahraini Minister of Foreign Affairs Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa had claimed to possess documents showing that Iran trains Bahraini opposition groups in Iraq and Syria so that they can smuggle weapons into the Arab country and carry anti-regime operations.
Tehran has times and again categorically denied the allegations raised by Bahraini officials about its alleged interference in the internal affairs of the Persian Gulf island state, describing the claims as baseless.
Bahrain has been in turmoil since pro-democracy protests erupted in mid-February 2011.
But the popular protests faced heavy-handed crackdown by Saudi-backed Al Khalifa regime.
Human rights organizations have accused the West of turning a blind eye to the crackdown, because it considers Bahrain as strategically important, providing a haven for the US Navy's Fifth Fleet in the Persian Gulf.
Saudi Arabia, whose forces helped the Al Khalifa regime in its bloody repression of the popular uprising in 2011 and still has a military presence there, is much resented by the Bahraini people.
