Bahraini FM’s Provocative Comments Spark Iran's Protest
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Iran summoned Bahrain’s chargé d'affaires in Tehran over what it called unfounded remarks against the Islamic Republic made by the Arab country’s foreign minister in his Twitter page, Iranian foreign ministry spokeswoman said.
Marziyeh Afkham announced on Thursday that the chargé d'affaires has been summoned following Bahraini Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmed Al Khalifa’s comments on Iran, noting that Tehran has strongly protested at his “unfounded remarks”.
This comes after Al Khalifa stated in a tweet that the Iranian people are facing “injustice, deprivation of rights and starvation” in their country.
Reacting to the Arab official’s comments, Afkham said, “Such remarks reveal the Bahraini officials’ confusion as to how to deal with the oppressed Bahraini people’s legitimate demands.”
Furthermore, she reminded the Persian Gulf littoral state’s officials of their own internal issues, saying Manama government had better try to fulfill the Bahraini nation’s demands, rather than relying on foreign forces and resorting to security approaches.
Bahrain has been the scene of almost daily protests against the Al Khalifa regime since February 14, 2011, when thousands of pro-democracy protesters took to the streets, calling for the royal family to leave power.
In the latest development, police in Bahrain clashed with the opposition demonstrators as Bahraini people marked the third anniversary of anti-government uprising on Thursday.
It was the first of three days of protests called by the opposition to mark Friday's anniversary as they seek to give new momentum to their campaign against the government.
