Heavy punishments will not defuse Bahrain crisis: Iran FM

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi has said that meting out heavy punishments to Bahraini protesters will not help resolve the crisis engulfing the tiny Persian Gulf sheikdom. “Intensifying crackdown on protesters and handing out severe punishments to them will get nowhere, and the Bahraini government should take appropriate measures to respond to the people’s demands and aspirations,” Salehi told reporters upon his arrival from New York on Wednesday.  Elsewhere in his remarks, Salehi said that the meeting he held with Bahraini Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa in New York on September 26 was requested by the Bahraini side. However, Khalid, in an interview with the London-based Arabic daily Asharq Alawsat published on September 29, stated that both sides had agreed to hold a meeting and neither him nor Salehi had requested the meeting.  Salehi added, “During the meeting, I reiterated that Iran’s principled policy is to defend the inalienable and legitimate rights of Muslims and expressed our concern over the developments occurring in Bahrain… and emphasized that the legitimate demands and aspirations of the Bahraini people should be fulfilled as soon as possible.” “For his part, the Bahraini foreign minister stated that a fact-finding committee has been established with the ratification of the government” to investigate the situation, he stated./129