NEW YORK, NY—According to state news agency, Fars News, the Iranian government is warning Bahrain against the use of force in dealing with protesters.
The small country of Bahrain has experienced a sudden surge in popular uprising similar to pro-democracy movements in Egypt and elsewhere in the Middle East.
Iran’s Foreign Minister,Ali Akbar Salehi, said on Monday that the Bahrain government must refrain from using “violence and force against the population". Salehi added Iran expects "the Bahraini government to be wise in responding to the demands of protesters and respecting their rights."
Kazem Jalali, an Iranian parliamentary member described the actions of the Bahrain’s government as a "crime."
"Crackdown on people who are seeking their demands is a wrong measure pursued by some countries including Bahrain and presence of foreign forces for suppression is a crime," Jalali told reporters on Monday.
Jalali added,"Shiites and Sunnis are protesting against the governorship of Bahrain and the government should accept their demands."
In the aftermath of the 1979 Islamic revolution, Khomeini disbanded the Shah’s secular government, including its American trained armed forces. The secular government agencies were viewed with suspicion by the up- and- coming Iranian clerics who worked ferociously to consolidate their grip on the Iranian nation.
Khomeini created the Revolutionary Guard, a parallel military force fiercely loyal to the Iranian Mullahs. The Revolutionary Guard’s mission is to protect the Islamic Republic by keeping the ruling clerics in power.
The Iran’s Supreme Leader has used the Guard to brutally suppress the recent uprisings in Iran. The public unrest began in 2009 and was in response to the disputed re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to a second term.
According to Iran’s Minister of Intelligence, Heydar Moslehi, “Since the best defense is considered to be an attack, the ministry is planning aggressive attacks through intelligence services,” referring to pre-emptive strikes against opposition leaders and their followers.
Since the beginning of the popular uprising by Iranian dissidents groups, the Islamic Republic’s Revolutionary Guard with assistance from the Basij forces have attacked and severely beaten scores of protesters. Some protesters have been shot and murdered in plain view by the Islamic Republic’s security agents.
Iran has ignored international calls to show restraints in managing its own protesters, insisting that the Islamic Republic’s response in dealing with its own citizens is a local matter not subject to international scrutiny.
According to the latest UN report, executions in Iran are on the rise again and some of those condemned to hang are affiliated with Iranian dissident groups