File photo shows a young Bahraini protester waving the national flag during a demonstration near Manama.
An Iranian lawmaker has dismissed Bahrain’s allegation about dismantling an Iran-linked terrorist cell, describing the allegation as part of the Arab kingdom’s scenario to promote Iranophobia.
In a Monday interview, spokesman of Iran Majlis Committee on National Security and Foreign Policy Hossein Naqavi-Hosseini rejected Manama’s recent allegation as “pointless and baseless,” noting, “The Islamic Republic of Iran does not interfere in Bahrain’s affairs and only feels obliged to defend the legitimate rights of the Bahraini people.”
On Saturday, Bahrain’s Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid bin Abdullah al-Khalifa claimed that Manama has dismantled a “terrorist cell” linked to Iran, Iraq, and Lebanon.
“In line with [their] Iranophobia project, certain Bahraini officials often bring up empty allegations similar to the recent one against the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Naqavi-Hosseini stated.
The Iranian lawmaker pointed to the second anniversary of the popular uprising in Bahrain, noting, “In recent weeks, the Bahraini government, instead of heeding the public demand and hearing the voice of the revolution, has escalated its crackdown.”
Bahrainis have been staging demonstrations since mid-February 2011, demanding political reform and a constitutional monarchy, a demand that later changed to an outright call for the ouster of the ruling Al Khalifa family following its brutal crackdown on popular protests.
Scores have been killed, many of them under torture while in custody, and thousands more detained since the popular uprising in Bahrain began.
ASH/KA/SS
