Iran at War with Neighbors
A bomb killed two policemen and wounded six in the deadliest such attack in Bahrain in months, and state media said the explosives resembled some seized at the weekend that authorities say were smuggled in from Iran.
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir on Monday accused Iran of making threats against Riyadh’s ally, Bahrain, which he said showed that the Islamic republic was harboring hostile designs against its Middle Eastern neighbors.
Speaking at a joint news conference with visiting European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, Jubeir said Saudi Arabia had raised the issue with her.
He said the comments showed that Tehran was intervening in its neighbors’ internal affairs.
“It does not represent the desire of a state for good neighborly relations but that of a state which has aspirations in the region and which carried out hostile act like this,” he added.
Jubeir did not clarify who made the comments or when, but he said they could be linked to the terms of the agreement with world powers on its nuclear program or to setbacks suffered by Iran’s Houthi allies in Yemen and President Bashar al-Assad’s forces in Syria.
“I don’t know, but we reject their comments and reject the hostility they show towards the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the countries of the region,” he said.
Bahrain on Saturday said it had foiled an arms smuggling plot by two Bahrainis with ties to Iran and recalled its ambassador to Tehran for consultations after what it said were repeated hostile Iranian statements.
Relations between regional Sunni powerhouse Saudi Arabia and Shi’ite Muslim rival Iran have long been sour, with Riyadh accusing Tehran of trying to expand its influence to its Arab neighbors and allies.
Western-allied Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, is currently leading an Arab coalition in a campaign against the Houthis in Yemen.
Gulf Arab states are concerned that the nuclear accord will hasten a rapprochement between Tehran and Washington that could embolden Iran to increase support for paramilitary groups across the Middle East.
Mogherini was due to travel to Tehran on Tuesday, where she will meet Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif and other senior officials.
Sunni-ruled Bahrain has long accused Iran of stirring up unrest among its Shi’ite population and tensions between the two sides have risen in recent days, with Bahrain recalling its ambassador from Tehran on Saturday.
Gulf rulers are also deeply critical of Iranian involvement in regional conflicts in Iraq, Syria and Yemen, and accuse Tehran of contributing to the increasingly bitter sectarian rift between Sunnis and Shi’ites.
In a message posted on his Twitter account, Bahrain’s foreign minister, Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed al-Khalifa, suggested there was no difference between Sunni or Shi’ite Islamist militants, adding: “Their goal is the same, and their reference point is Iran”.
BNA said the explosives were similar to those seized by security forces on Saturday, which the government says were smuggled into the country by two Bahrainis with links to Iran.
Bahrain also recalled its ambassador to Tehran for consultations on Saturday after what it said were repeated hostile statements made by Iranian officials.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif called on Sunday for a united front among Middle Eastern nations to fight militancy during a visit to Kuwait.
Iran’s role in the region was unpredictable due to internal divisions, said Aimen Dean, Managing Director of the Five Dimensions consultancy.
“There is one foreign policy pursued by (President Hassan) Rouhani and Zarif, and another pursued by the IRGC and the Qods Force,” he said, referring to powerful revolutionary factions not accountable to the elected government.
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