TEHRAN: Iran yesterday said that it regretted Bahrain’s move to ban the kingdom’s opposition groups from having contact with Hezbollah, Lebanon’s Shia militant movement and close ally of Tehran.

“Bahrain’s stance towards Hezbollah is regretful,” foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Araqchi said at his weekly press conference.

Bahrain on Monday banned opposition groups from all contact with Hezbollah in a bid to limit the movement’s perceived influence on its restive Shia majority. Last month the state branded Hezbollah as a “terrorist organisation”.

Hezbollah, like Iran, is backing the regime of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad against rebels. The group has fighters on the ground alongside the Syrian army. Hezbollah fighters are currently engaged in a fierce battle against rebels for control of the central Syrian town of Qusayr.

Araqchi said Hezbollah has an “undeniable” role in ensuring Lebanon’s security and stability and accused Bahrain of “deflecting its domestic problems on foreign groups”. Relations between Iran and Bahrain have been strained since February 2011 when Tehran backed anti-regime protests there which were led by the Shia political opposition.

Reuters