Iran Rejects Bahrain's 'Baseless' Allegations of Ties to Suspected Terrorists

Tehran dismissed Manama's allegations that it had links to the suspected terrorists recently detained in Bahrain as "baseless," Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi said Friday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The Bahraini Interior Ministry said on Thursday that it had uncovered a terrorist group that was behind a number of attacks in the country and its leader, Hussain Ali Ahmed Dawood, is believed to have ties to Iran and to have fled there.

"'Following the human rights organizations revelations on torture of political prisoners in Bahrain, Bahraini officials are using baseless claims against Iran to deviate public opinion from peaceful protests there," the spokesman said, as quoted by Islamic Republic News Agency.

Qassemi added that Iran had "never made efforts to destabilize a neighboring country and never provoked violence in any country including Bahrain."

The Iranian Foreign Ministry's spokesman suggested that Manama should stop suppressing its own people and try to resolve the existing issues through a peaceful dialogue.

According to the Human Rights Watch non-governmental organization, Bahrain's courts are convicting peaceful opposition figures and failing to hold officials accountable for torture and serious human rights violations. The watchdog has also expressed concern over the state of migrant workers in Bahrain.