05/03/2018
10125 times read
05/03/2018
10125 times read
THE story of Persian greed in Bahrain is not new and it is not linked to a certain regime. Since the independence of the Kingdom of Bahrain in 1971, the Shah of Iran made this Arab country the main target through various means, but he failed even in infiltrating the social fabric of its community; whereas Bahrain continued building its modern State and so it became a prestigious global financial and investment center. In 1979, when Khomeini’s coup regime toppled the rule of Muhammad Reza Pahlavi (Shah), Iran’s greed over Bahrain witnessed a new episode through the exploitation of sectarian zeal and instigating seditions between people of the same society. Given that Iran’s theme was ‘exportation of the revolution’ which was adopted by the new turbaned Shah – Khomeini, it received some support from the tempted Bahrainis. This led to the emergence of a local group that distorted facts by claiming sectarian injustices. On March 6, 1999, when King Hamad bin Essa assumed power in Bahrain, he set his objective – from the word ‘go’ – to transform his country such that it joins the ranks of advanced countries by taking civilized procedures like respecting human rights and opening up to the world based on the main principles the country has been following since 1971. Just like any other country, Bahrain found someone who attempted to take advantage of such procedures for personal gains. Iran’s agents went on to exploit the political openness and freedom to market the Mullah regime’s schemes. Bahrain was not the only target of this frivolity. In fact, Iran still considers Bahrain the bridge to reach the eastern region of Saudi Arabia by transmitting sectarian sedition to it. Therefore, during the early days of the so-called ‘Arab Spring’ which was sponsored by Arab and foreign countries, hired groups emerged in Bahrain and took their positions at some squares in Manama to declare their rebellion against the State. Unfortunately, all that happened with the direct support of the United States of America through the visits of its former ambassador to Bahrain to Manama’s Lulu Roundabout, where he encouraged the wicked ones to raise the ceiling of their demands. In the past seven years, terrorists have been receiving funds, security, training and weapons from Tehran’s regime, as well as media backing from various Arab and foreign circles. It is really unfortunate that these terrorist groups entered the line of some Arab countries where their interference was exposed when they propagated stories about some former leaders who predicted the collapse of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia within the next 12 years. However, they failed to realize at the time that the threat to Bahrain was also a threat to all other Gulf Cooperation Council countries, as they went on to align themselves with the Mullah regime under the illusion of their ability to realize their wishes. Iran’s terrorist operations that Bahrain has been witnessing over the past years have not achieved any success for Iran. In fact, these operations failed due to the implementation of prudent security policies as preemptive war on terrorism. The latest of such failures, or rather defeats, happened a few days ago when Bahraini security agencies foiled a major terrorist plan by arresting scores of terrorists who underwent training in camps operated by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, whether in Iraq or Lebanon, under Hezbollah’s control. In addition, the Bahraini security agencies confiscated ammunition, explosives and weapons smuggled from Iran. This terrorist bust operation coincided with the recent speech of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in Bandar Abbas City in Iran, where he categorically stated: “We are loudly saying this to countries on the western side of the Gulf, ‘Iran has been and will continue to be your good neighbor. We want to live in peace and security with the world.’” Does the one who want to live in peace send terrorism to his neighbors? If he wants to prove the sincerity of his intentions, why does not he condemn the terrorist groups sponsored by the Revolutionary Guard which are exposed from time to time in Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates? Everyone in the Gulf is aware that no one is falling for the Mullah hypocrisy. Actually, our nations are fully aware that confronting Persian expansionism is our obligation. Therefore, if Gulf nations have confronted Iran’s agents in Yemen over the past four years, they can definitely withstand for 20 years due to their knowledge that the Mullah destruction suffered by Bahrain is suffered by everyone. By Ahmed Al-Jarallah - Editor-in-Chief, the Arab Times