Iranian Foreign Ministry Official Rejects Bahrain's Accusations

The state news agency IRNA reported that an anonymous 'informed source' in the Iranian Foreign Ministry rejected the accusations made by the Chief of Police of Bahrain regarding the efforts of 'proxy groups of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' to carry out bombings in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia as 'unfounded.' According to this report, the 'informed source' stated on Friday, June 29, that 'over the past few years, it has been proven that the deflection and accusations against others by Bahraini officials have not only failed to solve the problems of this country but have complicated them further.' He advised Bahraini officials to create the necessary grounds for serious dialogues through 'confidence-building measures' instead of what he described as 'security and sectarian approaches.' Tareq Al-Hassan, the Chief of Police of Bahrain, on Thursday, June 28, accused 'proxy groups of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran' of attempting to carry out bombings in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, referring to the discovery and seizure of a quantity of explosives. According to the Chief of Police of Bahrain, 'these sophisticated explosives were intended to be transferred to Saudi Arabia.' Bahrain witnessed a wave of protests in 2011 from its Shiite majority, demanding political reforms. In this context, the Bahraini government accuses Iran of inciting the Shiites of this country, an accusation that Tehran has always denied. Meanwhile, Marzieh Afkham, the spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, on June 26, once again called for the release of Sheikh Ali Salman, the Secretary-General of the Al-Wefaq Society in Bahrain, following a prison sentence issued against him. A court in Manama, the capital of Bahrain, sentenced Sheikh Ali Salman, the Secretary-General of the Al-Wefaq Society, the largest Shiite party in the country, to four years in prison. He was accused in court on Monday, December 29, 2014, of 'attempting to change the regime through violence, threats, and illegal methods.' Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Iranian Foreign Minister, and other officials from this ministry have repeatedly called for Sheikh Ali Salman's release. Meanwhile, the Bahraini Foreign Ministry issued a strongly worded statement in December 2014, considering Zarif's request for Sheikh Ali Salman's release as interference in the internal affairs of the country and urged Iran to be concerned about its own human rights record.