Ahlul Bayt News Agency - Bahrain has summoned Iran's acting charge d'affaires after the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei voiced support for the oppressed across the Middle East.
“An official protest memorandum" was presented to Mortaza Senobari over statements made by Ayatollah Khamenei during a speech at the Eid al-Fitr prayers, the state-run Bahrain News Agency quoted the kingdom’s foreign ministry as saying in a report published on Sunday.
On Saturday, the Leader 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.
Bahrain has repeatedly accused Iran of meddling in its internal affairs. Iran has strongly denied any manner of interference stating that it only supports attempts to address human rights violations in the tiny Persian Gulf Kingdom.
Manama's reaction came despite 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.
Since anti-regime protests began in mid-February 2011, thousands of anti-regime protesters have held numerous demonstrations on the streets of Bahrain, calling for the Al Khalifa family to relinquish power.
Many people have been killed and hundreds of others injured and arrested in the crackdown on peaceful protests ever since.
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