"The Islamic Republic of Iran strongly rejects the actions attributed to the Central Bank and other Iranian banks in Bahrain," Saeed Khatibzadeh, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman said on Sunday in response to questions asked by journalists about a ruling by a court in Bahrain that found the Central Bank of Iran guilty of criminal charges of money laundering on July 29.
"The judicial process in the courts of Bahrain against the Central Bank and the Iranian individuals and banks is so distorted that we have no official and reliable source to know the details of the cases, except for some media sources. Therefore, any statements in this regard are based on the news published in the media," the spokesman added.
He added, "The general purpose of filing these lawsuits and making baseless accusations and claims against the CBI and the Saderat Bank and Melli Bank and some of the managers of these banks are politically motivated and has no legal value."
"Apparently, the Bahraini court in these cases merely acted in accordance with the orders and decisions of the Bahraini political and security apparatus," Khatibzadeh said, adding "these cases lack judicial standards pertaining to fair proceedings and fair trial, and the Iranian parties are deprived of their basic rights and the judicial process was completed in a non-transparent and distorted manner."
The spokesman considered the leveling of these false criminal charges, and their investigation and the rulings in these cases, from the point of view of the Islamic Republic of Iran, as lacking judicial legitimacy and rendering responsibility for the Bahraini government.
He pointed out, "It is obvious that the Islamic Republic of Iran has the right to use all national and international means to confront with such actions by Bahrain and will not fail to defend the interests and rights of its citizens."
KI/5270632