NEW IRANIAN AMBASSADOR DRAWS CRITICISM

C O N F I D E N T I A L MANAMA 000830 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/30/2017 TAGS: PREL IR BA SUBJECT: NEW IRANIAN AMBASSADOR DRAWS CRITICISM REF: MANAMA 810 Classified By: Charge d'Affaires a.i. Christopher Henzel for reasons 1. 4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (U) The announcement that Hossein Amir Abdollahian will be Iran's next ambassador to Bahrain has drawn sharp criticism from at least one Salafist member of Bahrain's parliament. Jassim Al-Saeedi, an independent Salafi member of the lower house of parliament who has been engaged in sectarian name-calling with Bahraini Shi'a (reftel),called upon the MFA to reject Abdollahian's appointment because of what he claimed were Abdollahian's ties to the Iranian military. ¶2. (U) Al-Saeedi based his comments on media reports about Abdollahian's previous duties as head of the Special Committee for Iraq Affairs within the Iranian MFA, deputy to Iranian FM Mottaki's special envoy on Iraq, and as Charge d'Affaires at Iran's embassy in Baghdad. ¶3. (C) Comment: Abdollahian's ties to Iran's Iraq policy make him immediately suspect to those Sunni Bahrainis who view the Shi'a community here as loyal to Iran, and his appointment is causing a stir before he has even arrived. ********************************************* ******** Visit Embassy Manama's Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/manama/ ********************************************* ******** HENZEL