TEHRAN – Iran has called on the UN Security Council to protect opposition activists in Bahrain, where, it said, unrest and suppression could destabilise the entire region, the official IRNA news agency said on Friday. Tehran has been outspoken in its criticism of the Bahraini Sunni Muslim ruling family’s suppression of protests by members of the Shi’ite majority.
Bahrain’s Gulf Arab allies — some of which sent troops to the island state to bolster government forces — have accused the Islamic Republic of interference. In a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi called for “a serious and immediate action by the Security Council over suppressing people’s demands in Bahrain using military force”.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran cannot stay indifferent towards events in Bahrain and their consequences, because the situation could be uncontrollable if the current situation goes on,” Salehi wrote. “Such consequences would destabilise the Persian Gulf region and of course its aftermath would affect the world.”
Bahrain has launched a security crackdown after its police forces quelled weeks of pro-democracy protests which it accuses Iran of fomenting. The opposition says hundreds have been arrested and four have died in police custody over the last two weeks.
The Bahrain crisis has accentuated tensions between non-Arab Iran and its Arab neighbours across the Gulf, particularly Saudi Arabia which provides 12 percent of US crude imports and is seen by Washington as a counterweight to the Islamic Republic. Salehi complained to the United Nations last month after Saudi troops entered Bahrain as part of an effort by the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council to help quell the protests, saying Riyadh was using the protests as a “pretext for intervention”.
At Friday prayers in Tehran, hardline cleric Ahmad Jannati backed Salehi’s comments and warned Saudi Arabia against provoking Iran. “Hatred towards Saudi Arabia is spreading,” Jannati told worshippers. “People really hate these Wahhabis,” he added.
Iran says it ‘cannot stay indifferent’ on Bahrain
