Dubai- Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmad Al Khalifa Bahrain’s foreign minister said on Friday that Gulf States were prepared to confront Iran over its foreign policy and Tehran should drop its support for Middle East factions.
Ties between Bahrain and Washington remained strong, he said.
Bahrain cut diplomatic relations with Iran in January, one day after Saudi Arabia severed ties with the Islamic republic following attacks by demonstrators on its diplomatic missions in Tehran and Mashhad.
“We send a message to Iran and to all its followers. We are now serious about confronting it and we have no hesitation to defend our people, states, interests and brothers in the region because this is a vital issue for us,” Shaikh Khalid said in an interview with the Dubai-based Al-Arabiya channel.
Bahrain accuses Iran of fomenting unrest in the country and of supplying weapons to Shiite militants behind several bomb attacks on security forces. Iran denies the charges.
Shaikh Khalid said Bahrain and other Gulf Arab states were ready to turn a new page with Iran if it changed its policies.
“The main step is that Iran must completely change its foreign policy towards the countries of the region,” he said.
This included Iran dropping its support for the Lebanese Hezbollah organization and other groups.
Source: Gulf News, April 2