Following the support voiced by Iranian Leader Ayatollah Khamenei for the oppressed people across the Middle East during a speech at the Eid al-Fitr prayers on July 18, 'an official protest memorandum' was presented to Mortaza Senobari, Iran’s acting charge d'affaires in Manama, by Bahraini officials.
The Leader had emphasized that Iran would always support the oppressed Palestinian, Yemeni, Iraqi, and Bahraini people as well as the Syrian nation and government along with resistance movements in Lebanon and Palestine.
“Such issues are constantly raised in diplomatic arenas; [the Bahraini officials] have said they summoned Iranian diplomat for a number of consultations and that this does not mean an interruption or decline in the level of relations between the two countries,” said Ghashghavi.
He added that Bahrain had criticized Iran for defending the oppressed people in that country, saying “we will however continue our support for the oppressed and have always stressed that special attention must be given to the Bahraini people.”
Ghashghavi further stated that the two countries will maintain their bilateral relations and that Iran wishes to continue regional consultations with all countries in the Middle East.
Bahrain has come under severe international criticism on numerous occasions by prominent human rights organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch for state crackdown on pro-democracy protests, including detention of activists, violent methods to disperse demonstrators, and a media blackout on rallies.
While Bahrain has repeatedly accused Iran of meddling in its internal affairs, the Islamic Republic has strongly denied any manner of interference stating that it only supports attempts to address human rights violations in Bahrain.