FOREIGN MINISTER WARNS OF IRANIAN INTERFERENCE IN

S E C R E T MANAMA 000344

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/ARPI

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/08/2015
TAGS: PREL PGOV KIRF PHUM PTER ASEC BA IR
SUBJECT: FOREIGN MINISTER WARNS OF IRANIAN INTERFERENCE IN
BAHRAIN

REF: A. MANAMA 281 (NOTAL)

B. MANAMA 270 (NOTAL)

Classified by Ambassador William T. Monroe for reasons 1.4
(b) and (d).


1. (C) Foreign Minister/Deputy Prime Minister Shaikh
Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa told the Ambassador March 7
that Minister of Interior Shaikh Rashed briefed members of
Parliament March 6 on Iranian interference in Bahrain's
Ashura celebrations in February. Shaikh Rashed told
Parliamentarians there were Hizballah flags and photographs
of Khomeini and Khamenei posted outside Shia assembly halls
("ma'tams") and along the procession route. The MPs reacted
well, understanding the distinction between religious and
political activities.


2. (S) The Foreign Minister told the Ambassador that he had
called in the Iranian Ambassador to protest these actions.
The Iranian apologized, saying he was embarrassed and would
advise his government. The Foreign Minister said that
advising his government was not enough; he must inform them
that such interference was harming bilateral relations.
(Note: See Ref B for Minister of State for Foreign Affairs
Abdul Ghaffar's protest to the Ambassador about Iranian
interference in Bahrain. End Note.)


3. (C) In response to the Ambassador's question, Shaikh
Mohammed said that the Iranian hand was much more evident
during Ashura celebrations this year than in previous years.
He said that senior Shia Bahraini cleric Issa Qassem spoke
publicly flanked by large photographs of Khomeini, Khamenei,
and even Hizballah SecGen Nasrallah. Bodyguards were posted
around Qassem as if he were a political, not religious,
figure. He said that in the past, the Shia had kept the
photos inside their ma'tams; this year they were everywhere.
The Shia had tried to "blanket" Bahrain with black flags.
(Comment: Many black flags were placed in intentionally
provocative locations, including directly across the street
from the largest Sunni mosque in the northwest of the island,
in Saar. End Comment.)


4. (C) Shaikh Mohammed claimed that several Bahraini Shia
had come to the government to complain about Iranian
interference in the celebrations. He said they protested
imposition on Bahrainis of the concept of the "velayat-e
faqih," or rule by the jurisprudent, the doctrinal basis for
Iran's clerical rule. Shaikh Mohammed said, "Khamenei is not
a religious leader; he is a political leader. He is
commander-in-chief of the Iranian army."


5. (C) The Foreign Minister expressed his concern that
extremists are abusing Bahrain's freedom. Iranians were
using agents to incite people, hoping to create a "fifth
column" inside Bahrain. The government had to react now
before things became worse. Bahrain had faced similar
challenges before, from communists and Baathists. "We want a
peaceful region, and do not want Iran to pull us backward,"
Shaikh Mohammed said. He warned that these activities could
allow extremists to "hatch" terrorism inside Bahrain. He
said that in Muharraq (a district to the east of Manama),
Sunnis and Shias almost had a clash over the placement of
flags and other religious symbols in sensitive locations.


6. (C) Shaikh Mohammed complained that the administrators of
the Bahrain On-Line website who were detained in late
February (Ref A) were trying to stir up trouble. He
continued that one day after Minister of Labor Majid Al Alawi
gave a presentation on Bahrain to the UN Committee on the
Elimination of Racial Discrimination in Geneva, two or three
activists who "have nothing to do here" claimed publicly that
the GOB discriminates against Shia. This is not true, the
Foreign Minister said, and Alawi presented evidence that Shia
have good jobs, including in managerial positions at the Alba
aluminum company. The Ambassador responded that Iran is no
friend of ours, and that we support efforts to control
extremism and calm tensions. However, freedom of expression
is a critical principle of democracy, and the government
should be able to absorb criticism. Shaikh Mohammed
responded that Bahrain is a small country that cannot
function living with tension every day.

MONROE