Press TV has conducted an interview with Saeed Shahabi, political analyst in London, to ask for his take on the recent remarks by Bahraini officials that Iran is interfering in the tiny Persian Gulf kingdom’s internal affairs.
The following is a rough transcription of the interview.
Press TV: This obsession with Iran continues in Bahrain. I am just wondering, have you ever seen any objective evidence proving what Bahrain is saying is Iranian “interference”?
Shahabi: I have material evidence to suggest and to prove that the Saudis are occupying Bahrain. They have sent their troops. I have evidence that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has sent its troops, Pakistanis are there, Jordanians are there. Of course we know that the America and Britain have their own bases in Bahrain. That I know and it is clear and there is a lot of evidence.
As for Iranian presence in Bahrain, I am not aware of any; I have not seen any suggestion or any proof that Iranians have interfered materially, physically in Bahrain. I have heard a lot in the past thirty years that every time there is a trouble inside the country then “Iran is interfering in the internal affairs of Bahrain”.
What I know is that Al Khalifa themselves have sent their delegation to Paris to attend the Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) meeting and to give allegiance and loyalty to them and to pray for them that the next meeting will be in Tehran under the leadership of Maryam Rajavi. That is there on tape.
As for these claims, they have raised these; they are the same as those claims that were made from 50, 60 years ago against those who were seeking reforms that they were agents of Russia, then the agents of south Yemen, then the agents of Jamal Abdul Nasser in Egypt and of Iraq sometime at the time of Saddam Hussein or before him. And now of course anyone who is calling for reforms will be castigated as being an agent of Iran. Nothing new in that, the end of the story that is it. It will happen next after a month or you hear the same story being repeated a “new cell has been uncovered” and it is linked to Iran….
Press TV: We have about a minute left Mr. Shahabi. I am wondering; do you think that, as you just said, anybody who speaks for reforms will be called an agent of Iran? Do you think that scares Bahrainis? Do you think it will silence them?
Shahabi: We have to understand that the Al Khalifa is a tribe that had put its hands and its feet in Bahrain, using force. And they are occupiers. For most Bahrainis, they are not indigenous people, they are foreigners. They are occupiers and they are the same as the Saudis. Now they are inviting more people, more British, as we saw in the last few days that they gained a new foundation for new (military) basis in Bahrain.
For the Bahrainis, they know that the future is not for the Al Khalifa. The future of the country must be liberated from its link from this tribe (Al Khalifa). The tribal dictatorship must not exist in modern world. That is the message of the Bahrainis to the world and that is their stand. They will not be coward into submission to dictatorship. That is simply not on. Yes there three or four thousand people, yes in the last few days more than 50 or 60 people have been arrested and tortured. Yes there are people whose citizenship has been revoked simply because of calling for reforms. There are all happening every day, but at the end of the day Bahrainis will remain Bahrainis, they will remain loyal to their country and the Al Khalifa will remain loyal to the outside of the country, to the foreign powers as we have seen in recent days, weeks, months and years.