Saudi intervention in Bahrain was a strategic mistake

Saudi Arabia’s decision to send troops to Bahrain to crack down on anti-regime protesters was a strategic mistake, according to the Iranian deputy foreign minister for Arab and African affairs.
“The deployment of Saudi military forces in Bahrain, which took place under the aegis of the Peninsula Shield Force, was a strategic mistake that has not only not helped resolve a problem but has also complicated the situation day by day,” Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told the Fars News Agency in an interview published on Sunday.

“We have clearly announced that we do not intend to interfere in the internal affairs of Bahrain,” he said, adding that the Bahraini people have some legitimate demands which should be taken into consideration, and a solution should be worked out.

He also said that Iran has not yet decided to send its ambassador back to Manama.

On the developments in Syria, Amir-Abdollahian stated that as the country is in the forefront of resistance against the Zionist regime, Israel is seeking to weaken Syria.

Syria is not experiencing any internal problem, and the government is implementing the promised reforms and is following the line of resistance against the Zionist regime, he added.

Asked about the fate of Imam Musa al-Sadr, an Iranian-born cleric who vanished without a trace in Libya in 1978, he said, “The case of Imam Musa al-Sadr has always been on the agenda of the Foreign Ministry.”

He also said that there is no solid evidence proving that Imam Sadr has been martyred.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Amir-Abdollahian spoke about the members of the terrorist Mojahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) who are based at Camp Ashraf and said that there is an opportunity for the repentant MKO members to return to Iran.