Bahrain yesterday recalled its ambassador from Tehran and declared the Iranian Charge D’affaires in Bahrain, Mohammad Reza Babaei, a “persona non grata”, giving him 72 hours to leave the country, a statement issued by the Bahraini Foreign Ministry revealed.

The statement read: “The Kingdom of Bahrain has decided to call back its Ambassador to the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mr Rashid Saad Al-Dossari, and declare the Iranian Charge D’affairs, Mr Mohammad Reza Babaei, persona non-grata and who has to leave the country within 72 hours.”

The Bahraini 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 neighbourliness, mutual respect and for its unacceptable encroachment on the independence and sovereignty of the Kingdom of Bahrain.”

The decision was made “in light of Iran’s continued interference in the domestic affairs of the Kingdom of Bahrain without a legal or moral deterrent, and in view of its evil attempts and practices through which it aims to fuel sectarian sedition and impose its hegemony on the entire region through villain tools and means that are not restricted to its senior officials ‘defamatory statements’,” the statement continued.

The ministry accused Iran of tending to “support sabotage, terrorism and instigation to violence through misleading media campaigns and support for terrorist groups with smuggled weapons and explosives, training or harbouring of the criminals, who are at large in an attempt to evade justice.”

This decision was made a day after the Bahraini Interior Ministry announced it arrested “several terror suspects and escaped convicts in terrorism cases,” as well as “uncovering more than 1.5 tonnes of explosive materials and a large bomb-making factory in two separate locations in a residential area south of the capital Manama.”

A statement by the Interior Ministry said: “After investigations, those arrested were found to have close links to terrorist elements in Iraq and Iran,” but the ministry did not disclose the number of those arrested or their affiliations.

Bahraini-Iranian relations are experiencing political tension because Manama accuses Tehran of interfering in its internal affairs and supporting the “Shia” opposition in the country.

Last July, the Bahraini Ministry of Interior announced it had thwarted an attempt to smuggle high-grade explosives, automatic weapons and munitions into the country by sea, the weapons were thought to originate from Iran. Five Bahrainis involved in the operation were arrested, some of whom had been trained in the Revolutionary Guard camps.

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