Manama: A Kuwaiti MP has blasted Iran's parliament speaker Ali Larijani for his alleged threats to the Arabian Gulf states, saying that he had failed to respect his hosts and that he behaved like a master with his slaves.
"His statement lacked the necessary respect for the host country and for its parliament. The problem is that his threat to strike the Gulf states in case of an attack on Iran was uttered inside the Kuwaiti parliament," MP Faisal Al Mislim said.
During a visit to Kuwait earlier this month, Larijani said that "states in the region that house US military bases should know that these bases must not be used against Iran. The region should not become a launchpad for aggression against Iran."
The parliament speaker however said that Iran "does not want to inflict any harm on the GCC states," and charged that the United States was scaring the Gulf from Iran to promote its presence in the region.
But for Al Mislim, Larjiani's words were "full of threats and menaces."
"The language used by Larijani was similar to the one used by teachers with their students or rather by a master with his slaves," he was quoted as saying by Kuwait daily Al Rai.
Al Mislim said that Kuwait has always refused to allow the use of its lands to strike Iran and that this position was known to everybody.
"Iran has voiced its stance long before Larijani arrived here and our official and popular position opposes US strikes against Iran. We have never been warmongers and we hope that the Iranians are not attacked by the Americans," he said.
The conservative MP said that Larijani's visit was supposed to enhance relations and to result in a fruitful exchange of views for the sake of both nations.
"However, if Larijani felt like expressing specific views to the countries of the Gulf, he should have done so from Iran, but not from Kuwait," he said.
For Al Mislim Iran should put an end to its tendency to flex its muscles to threaten Gulf countries.
"If Iran wants cordial, fraternal and Islamic relations with the Gulf countries, it must end its ostentatious behavior and stop flexing its muscles," Al Mislim said. "It should for instance work towards ending the pending issues of the three UAE islands, the maritime borders with Kuwait and its interference in the domestic affairs of Gulf countries."
Al Mislim added that Iran should also appreciate that there are Arab countries on the other shore of the Gulf.
"We find it deplorable that they criticize the Gulf Cooperation Council countries for issuing communiqués using the term Arabian Gulf and that they want to impose their appellation on other countries, even though there are Arab countries on the Western shore."
Iran has invariably insisted on calling the Gulf as the Persian and not the Arabian Gulf.
Al Mislim criticised the Kuwaiti foreign ministry should for "lapsing into silence", saying that it should have reacted to Larijani's statement.
"It is obvious that Larijani is seeking a higher position in Iran, and we tell him that he should not use Kuwait to gain political mileage in his own country," the MP said.
