‘No designs on Bahrain’
Iran never sought to extend rule beyond borders: Motaki
Committee to be set up to look into bilateral ties: Shaikh Khaled
by Ajit John
Chief Reporter
Bahrain and Iran yesterday sought to defuse a potential diplomatic row following remarks in a hardline Iranian newspaper that the Kingdom belonged to Iran which sparked widespread protests and condemnation in the country.
“The two countries respect each other’s integrity and sovereignty, and statements made by individuals in their capacity or newspapers should not and will not come in the way of strengthening ties between the two nations,” Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Motaki told mediapersons at a joint Press conference with his Bahraini counterpart Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa.
The visiting minister was reacting to comments made by the editor of Iranian newspaper ‘Kayhan,’ that Bahrain was a province of Iran and that the Island’s people wanted to return to the country.
Echoing similar sentiments, Shaikh Khaled said he had received assurances from Motaki on the controversial issue, and the two countries, in fact, had decided to form a committee that would discuss bilateral relations in all its aspects.
The committee, which would be set up after Ramadhan, would meet in Bahrain. “Motaki’s visit was aimed at clarifying the situation (arising out of the daily’s comment) and not apologise which Bahrain had not sought,” he said.
Motaki said his job was to ensure that Iran had good relations with countries in the region and the committee would provide both sides with the perfect platform to discuss issues.
Replying to questions, Motaki reiterated that statements made by NGOs and MPs do not detract from the stated position of the state to maintain friendly relations with the rest of the world.
Stating that Iran had never attacked any country, he said: “We have no plans for expansion, that is not part of our culture. We have never been conquered and have never sought to extend our rule beyond our borders.” On the question of ownership of disputed islands, he said there would be no discussion on these islands which belonged to Iran.
The two countries also discussed cooperation in the oil sector and the ongoing negotiations with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Iran’s stand on nuclear policy.
Motaki said he hoped that a position of mutual interest would be reached soon between IAEA and Iran whereby the right to produce nuclear power for peaceful purposes would be respected.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) ‘No designs on Bahrain’
Showing posts with label Bahrain. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bahrain. Show all posts
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
DAR AL ISLAM - BAHRAIN: WE WILL NOT ALLOW THE UNITED STATES TO LAUNCH ATTACKS ON IRAN FROM ITS BASES IN BAHRAIN
No Bahrain bases for US to launch attacks on Iran
MANAMA: Bahrain’s parliament overwhelmingly approved a ban on US military staging attacks on Iran from bases in Bahrain, the independent daily Al Wasat reported on Wednesday.
In the vote late Tuesday, the 40-member lower chamber of parliament voted 39-0 in favour of the ban, the paper said. Only lawmaker Jassim al-Saeedi abstained from voting in a gesture that implied he did not object to the United States striking Iran. The decision of the lower chamber, into which legislators are elected, is binding. The parliament’s upper chamber did not vote on the ban.
Pertinent Links:
1) No Bahrain bases for US to launch attacks on Iran
MANAMA: Bahrain’s parliament overwhelmingly approved a ban on US military staging attacks on Iran from bases in Bahrain, the independent daily Al Wasat reported on Wednesday.
In the vote late Tuesday, the 40-member lower chamber of parliament voted 39-0 in favour of the ban, the paper said. Only lawmaker Jassim al-Saeedi abstained from voting in a gesture that implied he did not object to the United States striking Iran. The decision of the lower chamber, into which legislators are elected, is binding. The parliament’s upper chamber did not vote on the ban.
Pertinent Links:
1) No Bahrain bases for US to launch attacks on Iran
Saturday, May 26, 2007
DAR AL HARB/ISLAM: ERNST & YOUNG IN BAHRAIN
Ernst & Young launches the 1st edition of the Islamic Funds & Investments Report in 2007
The Ernst & Young Islamic Funds & Investments Report 2007 identifies key trends in the Islamic wealth management industry and highlights the implications of these for industry players.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Ernst & Young launches the 1st edition of the Islamic Funds & Investments Report in 2007
The Ernst & Young Islamic Funds & Investments Report 2007 identifies key trends in the Islamic wealth management industry and highlights the implications of these for industry players.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Ernst & Young launches the 1st edition of the Islamic Funds & Investments Report in 2007
Monday, May 21, 2007
DAR AL ISLAM - BAHRAIN: THE SHI'IAH ARE ENGAGING POLICE IN VIOLENT PROTESTS
Bahrain hit by a second night of unrest
JIDHAFS, Bahrain - The Gulf island of Bahrain witnessed a second night of violent clashes between protesters and police on Sunday night, which concentrated mainly in Shia villages.
The clashes mark the second night in a row of violence between supporters of the opposition movement Haq (Right) and police.
Police moved to break-up a solidarity gathering attended by Haq general secretary Hassan Mushaima, and the executive director of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, who were about to face trial on Monday on security charges including the call for the overthrow of the regime.
Supporters gathered in front of Mushaima’s home in Jidhafs, on the outskirts of the capital Manama Sunday night and attempted to link-up with a march from near-by al-Masala village when e intervened.
Clashes broke-out between the police and opposition supporters in Jidhafs village before it spread to the nearby Shia villages of Sanabis and Daih as similar violent clashes broke out in villages in the country’s north and east.
Protesters hurled Molotov cocktails at police who entered the villages to clear the roads and drive away protesters. There were conflicting reports about injuries on both sides.
...
Flexing their muscle because Iran is ascendant?!? Hmmmmmm...interesting...interesting indeed...
Pertinent Links:
1) Bahrain hit by a second night of unrest
JIDHAFS, Bahrain - The Gulf island of Bahrain witnessed a second night of violent clashes between protesters and police on Sunday night, which concentrated mainly in Shia villages.
The clashes mark the second night in a row of violence between supporters of the opposition movement Haq (Right) and police.
Police moved to break-up a solidarity gathering attended by Haq general secretary Hassan Mushaima, and the executive director of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, who were about to face trial on Monday on security charges including the call for the overthrow of the regime.
Supporters gathered in front of Mushaima’s home in Jidhafs, on the outskirts of the capital Manama Sunday night and attempted to link-up with a march from near-by al-Masala village when e intervened.
Clashes broke-out between the police and opposition supporters in Jidhafs village before it spread to the nearby Shia villages of Sanabis and Daih as similar violent clashes broke out in villages in the country’s north and east.
Protesters hurled Molotov cocktails at police who entered the villages to clear the roads and drive away protesters. There were conflicting reports about injuries on both sides.
...
Flexing their muscle because Iran is ascendant?!? Hmmmmmm...interesting...interesting indeed...
Pertinent Links:
1) Bahrain hit by a second night of unrest
Thursday, April 05, 2007
DAR AL ISLAM - BAHRAIN: TAKE MORE WIVES YOU FOOLS, MOHAMMAD & ALLAH SAID YOU COULD
Take four wives, urges Bahrain MP
By Habib Toumi, Bureau Chief
Manama: An Islamist lawmaker has urged his male peers to take four wives, three Bahraini women and one foreigner, in order to help address the issue of the high number of spinsters in the country.
Shaikh Jasem Al Saidi, an independent with strong ties to the Salafis in the lower house, said that Bahraini men should not hesitate to wed more than one wife for the sake of the nation.
"We do not want to have spinsters in the country and we do not want a rise in the divorce rate either. Taking more than one wife is the solution, and I advise that the members of the Council of Representatives should set the example," he said.
But his remarks, uttered in a light tone, drew compassionate opposition from the other 38 men who sit in the 40-member council.
"Please, just speak for yourself," the Islamist deputy was told by fellow member Hassan Al Dossari, while Latifa Al Gaood, the only woman in the lower council, preferred not to comment.
Al Saidi's suggestion came after the council could not agree on the merits of extending health privileges to foreign women married to Bahrainis.
Pertinent Links:
1) Take four wives, urges Bahrain MP
By Habib Toumi, Bureau Chief
Manama: An Islamist lawmaker has urged his male peers to take four wives, three Bahraini women and one foreigner, in order to help address the issue of the high number of spinsters in the country.
Shaikh Jasem Al Saidi, an independent with strong ties to the Salafis in the lower house, said that Bahraini men should not hesitate to wed more than one wife for the sake of the nation.
"We do not want to have spinsters in the country and we do not want a rise in the divorce rate either. Taking more than one wife is the solution, and I advise that the members of the Council of Representatives should set the example," he said.
But his remarks, uttered in a light tone, drew compassionate opposition from the other 38 men who sit in the 40-member council.
"Please, just speak for yourself," the Islamist deputy was told by fellow member Hassan Al Dossari, while Latifa Al Gaood, the only woman in the lower council, preferred not to comment.
Al Saidi's suggestion came after the council could not agree on the merits of extending health privileges to foreign women married to Bahrainis.
Pertinent Links:
1) Take four wives, urges Bahrain MP
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
DAR AL ISLAM-BAHRAIN: MOSLEM IS THICKER THAN BLOOD & SECURITY AGREEMENTS WITH THE UNITED STATES
Iran lays down a challenge to Arab leaders
By Roula Khalaf, Middle East Editor
On a recent trip to Bahrain, a self-assured Manouchehr Mottaki, Iran’s foreign minister, professed to have the answer to the Gulf’s troubles.
Speaking to a largely Arab and western audience, he suggested Gulf stability was best achieved by removing American forces, well entrenched across the region, and setting up, with Tehran, a regional security alliance.
The call for more self-reliance in the Gulf has some appeal among ordinary Arabs, resentful of the US and frustrated by their own governments’ over-dependence on American security.
But official circles, in both the Gulf and the US, see his suggestions as a reflection of Iran’s suspected ambition for regional superpower status.
“It’s amusing,” says one American official. “Iran is saying, ‘Get rid of foreign forces and take us as the regional power.’”
The events of the past year have underlined Iran’s growing influence in the Middle East and its determination to become a nuclear power. But they have also reinforced the perception of Shia Iran as the biggest strategic threat to Washington’s Sunni allies in the Gulf, home to two-thirds of the world’s oil reserves.
Tehran’s regional strategy has been to back militant groups that confront Israel, positioning itself as a stronger defender of Arab and Palestinian rights than its Arab neighbours.
This approach worked remarkably well in the summer, when the Iranian-backed Hizbollah group in Lebanon stood its ground against a month-long Israeli offensive. Arab leaders who had criticised Hizbollah’s kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers, the act that sparked the war, emerged from the conflict weakened while Iran was emboldened.
What now alarms the Sunni Arab regimes most, however, is that an American failure to rescue Iraq from sectarian conflict could shift the balance of power in the region even more in favour of Iran.
Arab leaders largely back the minority Sunni in Iraq. Iranian officials say they support the central Iraqi government, dominated by the Shia majority. But according to senior Iraqi officials, Tehran’s strategy is more complex, and involves support for individual Shia groups, with the apparent aim of building separate links to Tehran.
Arab officials say Iran’s resurgence should not be exaggerated: its pursuit of a nuclear programme will bring greater international isolation, and this carries economic costs that will gradually become more apparent. But the Arab Gulf states have yet to formulate a coherent or common approach to address the perceived Iranian challenge.
Reluctant to throw their lot even more decisively behind a weakened and seemingly confused America, most are also worried about a potential dialogue between Washington and Tehran, fearing it could affect their own interests.
Saudi Arabia has been holding its own bilateral talks with senior Iranian officials but people close to its government say little progress has been made on easing regional tensions.
In an unusually bold move the Arab Gulf states announced this month they would study the possible development of nuclear technology, insisting – as Iran does – that the purpose would be energy production, not atomic weapons. Seen as a message to Tehran, the announcement also raised concerns about proliferation in the region.
The US, for its part, has been seeking to underline that its commitment to the Gulf is unwavering, whatever happens in Iraq.
Washington has launched a security initiative designed to strengthen security and defence ties with the Arab Gulf states, while the US has increased its naval presence in the region.
But Washington’s ultimate ambition to create a multi-lateral security system has received a cool response. Wary of each other, the Arab countries prefer to focus on deepening their bilateral defence ties with the US.
“The Gulf knows it needs to beef up its defences. But for the set-up that the US wants, which is to deal with the region as one institution, Gulf countries need to have a different relationship between each other,” says one senior Arab official.
US officials acknowledge that some of the smaller Gulf states are also weighing their military relationship with the US against the risk of alienating Tehran.
The Bush administration has been particularly concerned about gas-rich Qatar, where the US maintains its largest military base in the region.
One US official says Washington has been seeking explanations from the Qatari government about recent decisions at the UN and the Arab League that have appeared more supportive of Iran’s regional interests rather than those of the pro-western Arab states.
Arab regimes, meanwhile, have been pleading with Washington to press for progress on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, hoping moves towards the creation of a viable Palestinian state will help tip the strategic balance in the region back in their favour.
Some Iraqi officials argue that the Arab states’ best strategy to check Iran’s influence is to build bridges with Iraq’s Shia majority.
“The Shia in Iraq are Arabs [not Persians] and they feel the Arabs have rejected them,” says an Iraqi official. “What the Arabs should do is embrace the Shia government of Iraq and try to make it a counterbalance to Iran.”
Officials in Baghdad say this message, regularly relayed to Arab rulers, is only now starting to sink in.
And so the process of the Shi'iah taking control and becoming the head of the caliphate continues...
Pertinent Links:
1) Iran lays down a challenge to Arab leaders
By Roula Khalaf, Middle East Editor
On a recent trip to Bahrain, a self-assured Manouchehr Mottaki, Iran’s foreign minister, professed to have the answer to the Gulf’s troubles.
Speaking to a largely Arab and western audience, he suggested Gulf stability was best achieved by removing American forces, well entrenched across the region, and setting up, with Tehran, a regional security alliance.
The call for more self-reliance in the Gulf has some appeal among ordinary Arabs, resentful of the US and frustrated by their own governments’ over-dependence on American security.
But official circles, in both the Gulf and the US, see his suggestions as a reflection of Iran’s suspected ambition for regional superpower status.
“It’s amusing,” says one American official. “Iran is saying, ‘Get rid of foreign forces and take us as the regional power.’”
The events of the past year have underlined Iran’s growing influence in the Middle East and its determination to become a nuclear power. But they have also reinforced the perception of Shia Iran as the biggest strategic threat to Washington’s Sunni allies in the Gulf, home to two-thirds of the world’s oil reserves.
Tehran’s regional strategy has been to back militant groups that confront Israel, positioning itself as a stronger defender of Arab and Palestinian rights than its Arab neighbours.
This approach worked remarkably well in the summer, when the Iranian-backed Hizbollah group in Lebanon stood its ground against a month-long Israeli offensive. Arab leaders who had criticised Hizbollah’s kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers, the act that sparked the war, emerged from the conflict weakened while Iran was emboldened.
What now alarms the Sunni Arab regimes most, however, is that an American failure to rescue Iraq from sectarian conflict could shift the balance of power in the region even more in favour of Iran.
Arab leaders largely back the minority Sunni in Iraq. Iranian officials say they support the central Iraqi government, dominated by the Shia majority. But according to senior Iraqi officials, Tehran’s strategy is more complex, and involves support for individual Shia groups, with the apparent aim of building separate links to Tehran.
Arab officials say Iran’s resurgence should not be exaggerated: its pursuit of a nuclear programme will bring greater international isolation, and this carries economic costs that will gradually become more apparent. But the Arab Gulf states have yet to formulate a coherent or common approach to address the perceived Iranian challenge.
Reluctant to throw their lot even more decisively behind a weakened and seemingly confused America, most are also worried about a potential dialogue between Washington and Tehran, fearing it could affect their own interests.
Saudi Arabia has been holding its own bilateral talks with senior Iranian officials but people close to its government say little progress has been made on easing regional tensions.
In an unusually bold move the Arab Gulf states announced this month they would study the possible development of nuclear technology, insisting – as Iran does – that the purpose would be energy production, not atomic weapons. Seen as a message to Tehran, the announcement also raised concerns about proliferation in the region.
The US, for its part, has been seeking to underline that its commitment to the Gulf is unwavering, whatever happens in Iraq.
Washington has launched a security initiative designed to strengthen security and defence ties with the Arab Gulf states, while the US has increased its naval presence in the region.
But Washington’s ultimate ambition to create a multi-lateral security system has received a cool response. Wary of each other, the Arab countries prefer to focus on deepening their bilateral defence ties with the US.
“The Gulf knows it needs to beef up its defences. But for the set-up that the US wants, which is to deal with the region as one institution, Gulf countries need to have a different relationship between each other,” says one senior Arab official.
US officials acknowledge that some of the smaller Gulf states are also weighing their military relationship with the US against the risk of alienating Tehran.
The Bush administration has been particularly concerned about gas-rich Qatar, where the US maintains its largest military base in the region.
One US official says Washington has been seeking explanations from the Qatari government about recent decisions at the UN and the Arab League that have appeared more supportive of Iran’s regional interests rather than those of the pro-western Arab states.
Arab regimes, meanwhile, have been pleading with Washington to press for progress on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, hoping moves towards the creation of a viable Palestinian state will help tip the strategic balance in the region back in their favour.
Some Iraqi officials argue that the Arab states’ best strategy to check Iran’s influence is to build bridges with Iraq’s Shia majority.
“The Shia in Iraq are Arabs [not Persians] and they feel the Arabs have rejected them,” says an Iraqi official. “What the Arabs should do is embrace the Shia government of Iraq and try to make it a counterbalance to Iran.”
Officials in Baghdad say this message, regularly relayed to Arab rulers, is only now starting to sink in.
And so the process of the Shi'iah taking control and becoming the head of the caliphate continues...
Pertinent Links:
1) Iran lays down a challenge to Arab leaders
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