US, Saudi Arabia seek access to Bahrain bases for anti-Iran purposes

The representative of the leader of the Bahraini Muslim people says Saudi Arabia and the US are trying to gain access to the military bases in Bahrain to apply pressure on Iran.

In an exclusive interview with IRNA on Friday, Sheikh Abdullah al-Dabbaq condemned the proposed plan for the merger of Bahrain with Saudi Arabia, arguing that some Arab countries along with the hegemonic powers have thrown their weight behind the project.

He highlighted that Riyadh and Washington are making every endeavor to ratchet up pressure on Iran, and want to make use of Bahrain as a strategic base to this end.

The senior Bahraini cleric said he did not think the plan would materialize given the resistance of the people of Bahrain and the atmosphere in the Islamic world.

Saudi Arabia seeks to legitimize its criminal acts and policies in Bahrain through taking over the sovereignty of the Persian Gulf country, al-Dabbaq said, adding that, however, Riyadh is ignorant of the fact that the Bahraini nation and scholars are vigilant and will never allow it to implement its plan.

According to the recent reports, Saudi Arabia is seeking to merge with Bahrain in line with plans to unify the six Arab member states of the [Persian] Gulf Cooperation Council ([P]GCC).

The Saudi plan would give Manama internal political autonomy while Riyadh would stay in charge of the country’s military affairs.

Since the beginning of Bahrain’s revolution in February 2011, large numbers of anti-government protesters have poured into the streets across the oil-rich state to call on the ruling family to leave power.

Many people have either lost their lives or sustained injuries in Bahrain as a result of the continuing systematic clampdown on anti-regime rallies, and the deployment of foreign forces to stifle public demands. Thousands more have been arrested or expelled from their jobs.