MPs reject Iran-linked claims over Bahrain’s sovereignty

TDT | Manama

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

Bahraini MPs have hit back at claims published in Iran’s Kayhan newspaper suggesting the Kingdom is historically linked to Iran, dismissing the assertions as a rehash of a question they say history, law and the Bahraini people answered decades ago.

 Settled

MP Dr Hisham Al Ashiri said Bahrain’s legal and international status was fixed through the UN-supervised process of self-determination in 1970, when Bahrainis chose to establish an independent Arab state with full sovereignty.

He said that choice was later recognised internationally.

MP Hassan Ebrahim Hassan went further, saying the country’s independence is not open to reinterpretation after decades of recognition under international law.

 Identity

Several MPs framed the Kayhan claims as not only legally wrong but also a misreading of who Bahrainis are.

MP Mahmood Fardan said Bahrainis affirm their Arab identity and loyalty to His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, while MP Maryam Al Saigh called the claims false and misleading, insisting Bahrainis take pride in their Arab and Islamic heritage.

Pattern

For some MPs, the real issue was not only the Kayhan article but what they said it represented.

Financial and Economic Affairs Committee chairman MP Ahmed Sabah Al Salloom said the claims should not be read as a standalone media opinion but as part of a recurring pattern of interventionist rhetoric aimed at Bahrain.

He said such rhetoric undercuts the principles of good neighbourliness and non-interference.

MP Zainab Abdulameer described such platforms as a clear breach of international norms on state sovereignty.

Security

MP Mohsin Al Asbool tied the dispute directly to defence policy, saying Bahrain’s security partnerships are conducted within its own sovereign framework.

Like any sovereign state, he said, Bahrain has the right to enter bilateral and multilateral agreements that protect its stability and national interests.

He added that those arrangements are governed by international law and contribute to regional security.

Unity

Rather than escalating the dispute, several MPs argued that the claims had backfired.

MP Dr Muneer Soroor said the remarks only deepen Bahrainis’ attachment to their identity and to the Kingdom’s sovereignty.

MP Bader Al Tamimi said attempts to question Bahrain’s independence would fail because of the unity of the people, while MP Ali Saqr Al Doseri pointed to public loyalty initiatives signed by large numbers of citizens as evidence of that alignment.

A further group of MPs, including Jalila Al Sayed, Mohammed Yousif Al Maarafi, Mohammed Al Ahmed, Jameel Mulla Hasan, Basma Mubarak, Waleed Al Doseri and Mohammed Jassim Al Alaiwi, also rejected the claims.

They argued that Bahrain’s standing should be measured by development, stability and the rule of law, not by what they described as expansionist narratives.

For Parliament, the position was unanimous.

Bahrain’s identity was chosen by its people, recognised internationally and, in their view, reinforced rather than threatened by Tehran’s latest provocation.