Iran’s supreme leader Ali Ayatollah Khamenei stated on Saturday that the nuclear agreement will not change Tehran’s foreign policies as he reiterated that they will continue to support the Palestinians, the governments of Syria and Iraq as well as the “oppressed people” in Yemen and Bahrain.
Manama reacted to his comments on Sunday by summoning Iranian Embassy’s acting Chargé d’Affaires, Mortadha Sanubari, to protest against what it called “a flagrant and unacceptable interference in Bahrain’s internal affairs.”
The Under-Secretary of the Foreign Ministry Ambassador Abdulla Abdullatif Abdulla lamented that Khamanei’s recent comments were against the principles of neighborliness and non-interference and urged for an immediate end to such statements. He described his comments as “wrong” with “false descriptions of the situation in Bahrain.”
Abdulla said Iran should focus on improving the living conditions of the friendly Iranian people.
This is not the first time that Bahrain has condemned comments made by Iranian authorities. Majority of the population in Bahrain are Shias and Iran has been accused of supporting their continuous protests against the government since 2011. Abdulla stressed that this is “an unacceptable blatant encroachment on its sovereignty and independence and a violation of the principles of the UN and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).”
Khamenei referred to the Shias who have been claiming political reforms as being“oppressed” but Abdulla pointed out that Bahrain would take all measures that protect its interests, maintain its security and stability and guarantee the safety of its people.
Power in Bahrain is held by the Sunni minority strongly supported by Saudi Arabia.
