Iran Decries Bahrain Move to Ban Contacts with Hizbullah
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Iran on Tuesday said it regretted Bahrain's move to ban the kingdom's opposition groups from having contact with Hizbullah, a close ally of Tehran.
"Bahrain's stance towards Hizbullah is regretful," foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Araqchi said at his weekly press conference.
Bahrain on Monday banned opposition groups from all contact with Hizbullah in a bid to limit the movement's perceived influence on its restive Shiite majority.
Last month the Gulf state branded Hizbullah as a "terrorist organization".
Hizbullah, like Iran, is backing the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad against rebels.
The group has fighters on the ground alongside the Syrian army, in a conflict that has killed more than 94,000 people since it erupted more than two years ago.
Hizbullah fighters are currently engaged in a fierce battle against rebels for control of the central Syrian town of Qusayr.
Araqchi said Hizbullah has an "undeniable" role in ensuring Lebanon's security and stability and accused Bahrain of "deflecting its domestic problems on foreign groups".
Relations between Shiite Iran and the Gulf kingdom, ruled by a minority Sunni dynasty, have been strained since February 2011 when Tehran backed anti-regime protests there which were led by the Shiite political opposition.
Those protests were quelled by security forces that were assisted by Gulf troops led by Saudi Arabia. Iran vociferously condemned the move.
Since then, Bahrain and other Gulf states have repeatedly accused Iran of meddling in their affairs, a charge that the Islamic republic categorically denies.
28 May 2013, 14:28
717
Love U Bahrain! Not all Arabs are asleep ...
This is a big down-turn to Iran and Hizbo. dominance..
28 May 2013, 15:06
01
Sometimes it is better not to respond, as some statements and those who utter them do no warant one.
28 May 2013, 17:38
25
Wow Iran--can you be more openly racist? Countries have the right to ban their citizens from contacting any group--US citizens aren't allowed to talk to Al Queda and Lebanese citizens can't contact Israelis. Iran butting its way into this says more about Iran's meddling intentions than the actions of Bahrain.
28 May 2013, 18:39
46
""Hezbullah represents the wishes of the vast majority of Lebanese Shias""
just like khaddafi had the support of millions of libyans then pouf! suddenly no one recalls him... like the millions of germans behind hitler... then Pouf! no one defended him.... like the millions behind staline then pouf! everyone happy he was gone...
you know chris, making people fear you will get you a lot of popularity just to avoid trouble... LOL
"Hezbullah is the legitimate government of Lebanon." NO hezbollah is the party of GOD... nasrallah is the God of lebanon and aoun his prophet... LOL
28 May 2013, 23:52
22
PART 1:
Firstly, Shiites are not the majority. Secondly, democracy doesn't work in such a way to ensure that representation is held by sect majorities.
I understand you meant to say that hizbullah holds a majority only because shiites are the largest sect and that shiites are represented by hizbullah, but none of what you said is correct. I will explain myself duly and i hope i can be clear about it:
29 May 2013, 00:03
22
PART 3:
Secondly, election turnouts are not 100%, many of the times they are under 70% (interesting fact, this percentage decreases when Lebanese migrants come from abroad to vote). Not every sect is united under one party. Amal, a predominantly shiiah group also exists. Next, let's stop being discriminatory and ridiculous because Shiiahs can vote for anyone they like.
Your assessment that hizbullah is being kept from its rightful democratic rule over the rest of Lebanon is ridiculous. Hizbullah represents a minority of the Lebanese population both abroad and locally, a decreasing number I should add. Less people support them today, the shiiahs birth rate has dropped back to normal, so if they don't disappear from their actions today, they will be unable to represent any significant number of Lebanese in about 40 years.
