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MIDDLE EAST: Iran&#39s Claim on Bahrain Aimed at US

Analysis by Kimia Sanati

TEHRAN, Jul 17 2007 (IPS) - While an editorial in Iran&#39s influential ‘Kayhan’ daily laying territorial claims on Bahrain has sparked considerable tension in the region, the real target may lie in competition with the United States for influence in the Persian Gulf.

Kayhan editor Hossein Shariatmadari has since admitted that his Jul. 9 piece only reflected his personal opinion that Bahrain&#39s independence was recognised in 1971, by the Iranian monarchy of the time, under questionable circumstances.

In his editorial Shariatmadari protested against Bahrain&#39s support for the United Arab Emirates&#39 (UAE) claim over three islands in the Persian Gulf that were part of the 1971 deal. Public opinion in Bahrain, ‘a province of Iran,’ wrote Shariatmadari, was in favour of reunification with the "native land".

It is significant that Shariatmadari is the appointed representative of Ayatollah Khamenei, Iran&#39s Supreme Leader, at Kayhan and one of his close advisors.

Historically, the Iranian monarchy abandoned its territorial claims on Bahrain and in an agreement with Britain recognised the independence of Bahrain, a former Persian colony and a British protectorate since the late 18th century, in return for acknowledgement of Iranian sovereignty over three strategic Persian Gulf islands.

But a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) statement has backed the claims of the UAE on the three islands – the Greater and Lesser Tunb and Abu Mussa – in the eastern Persian Gulf. Bahrain, a GCC member along with Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, was a signatory to the statement.

As disquiet grew over the Kayhan article, Iran&#39s foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki visited Bahrain on Jul. 13 to meet with his Bahraini counterpart Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa and offer assurances of Iran&#39s respect for the small Persian Gulf country&#39s national sovereignty.

Mottaki’s visit to Bahrain was criticised at home by opposition reformists and ruling hardliners alike. Daryoush Ghanbari, a member of the Iranian Parliament&#39s national security and foreign policy, described the visit and the apologetic attitude as "trampling on Iran&#39s national dignity", Aftab news agency reported.

"Unfortunately there is contradiction in our foreign policy. There is an unyielding policy against the U.S. and the West … and ineffectual policy towards the small regional countries. Whenever they make a protest we are at a loss and trample down on our national dignity," Ghanbari was quoted by Aftab as saying.

Also, in a subsequent article on the subject, Shariatmadari hinted at the close ties that the GCC governments have with the U.S., indicating where the real problem lay.

Expectedly, Shariatmadari’s comments ran along the faultline between Bahrain’s Sunni rulers and the country’s majority Shia population. Protests mounted at the Iranian embassy in Bahrain, before Mottaki’s arrival, were carried out largely by Sunni clerics and lawmakers.

The Iranian newspaper&#39s comments incited huge reaction in Bahraini newspapers too which called the comments provocative and demanded an explanation and apology from Iran.

Cartoons of the Iranian supreme leader and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad appeared in some Bahraini newspapers including ‘Al Ayam,’ Bahrain&#39s government mouthpiece, and ‘Al Watan’ daily ran an editorial which described Iran as a "greedy and expansionist" country.

A Bahraini parliament member, the Salafi Sunni Sheikh Jasem Saidi, has since issued a death fatwa against Shariatmadari and demanded that any Bahraini who believes in what he wrote should repent within three days or be punished by death, the Baztab news and analysis portal, a hardline government mouthpiece reported.

Criticising Keyhan editor&#39s "injudicious and irresponsible" comments, Mashalah Shamsolvaezin, a prominent reformist journalist and former editor of Kayhan himself, in an editorial in reformist ‘Shargh’ daily praised the foreign minister&#39s swift reaction and his visit to Bahrain to contain the crisis, noting that Iran has over the past two decades based its foreign policy on establishing good neighbourly relations and the need for cleansing the region of foreign influence.

"The U.S. efforts to camp in the Persian Gulf are greeted by the Arab countries. With comments of the sort made over the past few days (by Shariatmadari) Arab countries&#39 will find better justification for seeking to increase their security level against what is called the Iranian threat," Shamsolvaezin wrote.

Iran-Bahrain relations have witnessed many ups and downs since the Islamic Revolution in Iran, particularly after a failed Shiite coup in 1981 and Shiite uprisings of the 90s. Of the 80 percent Muslim population, an estimated 70 percent are Shiites, many with Iranian roots.

In May 2007 the Shiite-dominated Bahraini parliament passed a bill obligating the government to officially announce that in case of a U.S. military aggression on Iran, the country would not support the attack nor allow any use of its facilities for the purpose.

"The ruling Sunnis of Bahrain have always accused Iran of supporting the country&#39s Shiite dissidence but pro-Iranian sentiments are not very strong except among a small minority of Bahraini Shiites who are of Iranian origins and many of whom still speak Persian. The rest value their independence," an analyst in Tehran requesting anonymity told IPS.

"The U.S. military has huge bases in Bahrain. Bahrain&#39s Sunni rulers are apprehensive towards Iran for this reason as well as because of Shiite dissidence. They are afraid of being the first target in the region if there is any confrontation between Iran and the U.S.," he added.