JEDDAH/MANAMA: Explosives smuggled on boats from Iran seized by authorities in July were enough to destroy Manama, Bahrain’s foreign minister said on Thursday.
Sheikh Khaled bin Ahmed Al-Khalifa urged Iran to refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of other countries and said Tehran should stop what he described as “dualism” between its language and actions, BNA reported.
He also called on Iran to revise its foreign policy.
Separately, in an interview with France’s Le Figaro newspaper, he called for a ground offensive “to eliminate the Iranian influence” in Yemen.
“We need to be present on the ground to obtain the application of UN Resolution 2216 and the return of the legitimate authority to power,” he said. “We must be sure that we completely eliminate the Iranian influence and that of their Houthi allies.”
Bahrain is part of an Arab coalition that since March has been attacking the Shiite Houthi rebels in a bid to prevent them from taking full control of Yemen and to restore the rule of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi.
The minister said it was necessary to send in ground troops because “we cannot continue to come under attack from missiles.” He also conceded that the coalition’s airstrikes were causing “collateral victims,” so a new approach was needed.
Meanwhile, a border guard was shot dead Thursday when his post came under fire from Yemen, said the Interior Ministry.
Fahd bin Humaid Al-Harbi was killed when an outpost came under heavy fire at 7 a.m. from positions in a mountainous area inside Yemen, Maj. Gen. Mansour Al-Turki, spokesman of the Interior Ministry, said on Thursday.
This prompted the Saudi-led forces to open fire on those positions. However, Al-Harbi was injured in the attack and died on his way to hospital. Al-Turki said there was an exchange of fire with Houthi militia trying to enter Saudi territory.
However, Saudi land forces killed all the Houthi infiltrators and wiped out several positions used by them as hideouts inside Yemen. Apache helicopters from the alliance forces carried out successful attacks inside Yemen, military sources said.