Manama: Bahrain’s foreign minister has called upon Iran to stop exacerbating situations in areas of conflict under the pretext of helping in the fight against the Daesh terror group.
“My brother Javad Zarif, stop exporting the weapons that have caused wars and sedition, and do not use the Daesh argument. We are capable of defeating them,” Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmad Al Khalifa told his Iranian counterpart on his Twitter account where he has 234,371 followers.
Shaikh Khalid was reacting to statements by Zarif in which he stressed Iran’s “firm decision to continue the development of its defense programme as well as its arms aid to those states in the region that are fighting terrorism.”
“We have announced that our defense capability will continue unharnessed and that our arms aids to our allies will continue too,” Zarif said, quoted by Fars News Agency.
“If it had not been for the Islamic Republic and its aids in the region and if Tehran had not bravely sided with the regional nations in the war on terrorism, certain capitals in the region would have been occupied by the Daesh terrorist group,” Zarif added in his statement.
Iran has often boasted about its alleged role in protecting countries and capitals from the ominous threats of rampant terrorism.
In November, Brigadier General Ismail Qaani, Lieutenant Commander of the Quds Force said Baghdad remained untouched by the Daesh terror group “thanks to Iran’s support and assistance.”
He said Daesh members “sought to surround Baghdad but they failed in reaching their ominous goals thanks to Iran’s supports,” he said.
However, Arab countries wary of Iran’s real goal in the region have been calling for establishing genuine cooperation between their capitals and Tehran that is based on mutual respect and the non-interference in the domestic affairs of other countries.
Iran last month sparked international furore when on Eid day, its Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said in his sermon that Tehran would continue to support some countries.
Khamenei was talking about the nuclear agreement signed between his country and world powers when he referred to his vision of ties with other countries in the region.
“Whether this drafted [nuclear agreement] text is approved through legal process in the country or not, the Iranian nation will not stop supporting the oppressed nation of Palestine, Yemen, Bahrain as well as the nations and governments of Syria, Iraq and the honest combatants in Lebanon and Palestine,” he said.
The claims were dismissed by several countries, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Al Azhar as “blatant interference in the domestic affairs of other countries.”
In Bahrain, the foreign ministry summoned the top Iranian diplomat currently in the country to protest against Khamenei’s statements.
