The ministry also said that it took this measure against Iran “for its recurrent blatant violations of all international norms, laws and conventions as well as the principles of good neighborliness, mutual respect and for its unacceptable encroachment on the independence and sovereignty of the Kingdom of Bahrain.”
A statement by the Interior Ministry said that those arrested were found to have close links to terrorist elements in Iraq and Iran.
Sputnik asked Seyed Hadi Afghahi, an Iranian political analyst and ex-diplomat, to elaborate on the matter.
“It is not the first time the Bahraini authorities have accused Iran of meddling with the country’s internal affairs… Previous such accusations proved totally unfounded. This time round they said they had found an arms cache with several Kalashnikov assault rifles and hand grenades and arrested several people accusing them of having trained with the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps allegedly to stage a coup in Bahrain,” Seyed Hadi Afghani said.
“All these charges make no sense and are simply funny… Iran supports the legitimate political rights of the Bahraini people and demands that every one of them enjoys the right to vote. The majority of the Bahraini population are Shiite Muslims who share the ideals of the Islamic revolution in Iran but have no direct links with the IRGC,” he added.
Seyed Hadi Afghani also said that the Bahraini leaders were under strong pressure from Saudi Arabia, which is currently enmeshed in a series of regional crises, such as the conflict in Yemen, the Russian aerial campaign in Syria, the creation by Russia, Iran, Iraq and Syria of a strong coordination center in the fight against ISIL.
The Saudis, along with their allies Qatar and Emirates, have failed to oust Syria’s legitimate president Bashar Assad.
In Yemen the Saudis planned to crush the local revolutionary movement in a matter of a single month, but the revolutionaries are still there.
After hundreds of pilgrims died in the recent stampede in Mecca, the Saudi rulers decided to put the blame on Iran and they have now turned to Bahrain, Mr. Afghani noted.
“I think that if the Bahraini people really wanted to take up arms the Al-Khalifa regime would have been gone now,” he added.
"The Saudis could also be trying to draw Iran into a regional war but we hope that Riyadh and its allies in Manama listen to reason and admit their mistakes, because if they don’t the result could be disastrous,” Seyed Hadi Afghani said in conclusion.
