Manama: Bahrain has summoned the acting Iranian charge d’affaires to protest against recent statements by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Undersecretary Abdullah Abdul Lateef handed Hamid Shafie an official protest note and stressed that the statements were a blatant interference in Bahrain’s domestic affairs and an abuse of the kingdom’s sovereignty and independence, the ministry said in a statement posted on Bahrain News Agency (BNA) late on Saturday.
The Bahraini official insisted that the statements were a flagrant violation of the United Nations principles, the ministry added.
Last week, Khamenei told commanders of the Basij (voluntary force) in Tehran that Iran “cannot remain indifferent on the issues of Palestine, Bahrain, Yemen, Syria and Iraq.”
However, Bahrain said that Iran’s allegations were totally baseless and that Tehran should stop encroaching on its sovereignty and violating the UN principles.
The statements lacked credibility and did not at all reflect the reality on the ground, Undersecretary Abdullah Abdul Lateef said, and called for an immediate end to such claims that included open incitements and reflected blatant insistence on spreading discord and tension in the region.
Iranian officials should instead focus on ways to improve the living conditions of the friendly people of Iran, he said.
Iran should be committed to the principles of the United Nations and the Islamic Cooperation Organisation and refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of Bahrain, he said.
Iran should respect Bahrain’s sovereignty and independence and should uphold the principles of good neighbourliness and international conventions applied between sovereign states, the undersecretary added.
Bahrain will never hesitate to take all the measures that will protect its interests and maintain its security stability and the safety of its people, he said.
Bahrain’s foreign ministry in July and September this year summoned the top Iranian diplomat in the kingdom to protest against statements by Khamenei.
