On March 17, 2016, the Iranian news agency Gam News reported that former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Gen. Saeed Qassemi, who is a member of the Ammar Headquarters think tank that advises Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, said that Iran should annex Bahrain. He made the statements at the March 16, 2016 "Two Hundred Years of Resistance against Imperialism" conference in Bushehr.
It should be noted that in 2007, Hossein Shariatmadari, editor of the Iranian daily Kayhan and an associate of Khamenei, stated similarly that Bahrain is an inseparable part of Iran and should be restored to it; see MEMRI Inquiry and Analysis No. 379, Tension in Iran-Bahrain Relations After Kayhan Editor Claims Bahrain Is Inseparable Part of Iran, August 3, 2007. Iran-Bahrain relations have been tense for years; see also
Inquiry and Analysis No. 972, Iran Calls On Shi'ites In Bahrain To Topple Their Country's Sunni Aal Khalifa Regime, May 29, 2013.
The following are excerpts from Gen. Qassemi's statements:
Saeed Qassemi (Source: Mehrnews.com)
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"One of our demands is to annex Bahrain to Bushehr province... Bahrain is a province of Iran that should be annexed to the Islamic Republic of Iran. The land of this country [Bahrain] belongs to Bushehr province. It was separated from Iran in difficult times in the past."
After praising the IRGC members who had, on January 12, 2016, arrested 10 American sailors from two small U.S. naval craft that had strayed into Iranian territorial waters, Gen. Qassemi added: "During the course of its history, England attacked Bushehr province four times... If they [the British] intend to establish a consulate in Bushehr, they will have to cross over the bodies of our people."
He also said: "Today's infiltration [of Iran by the West and the U.S.] is coming not through the window but through the main entrance. Following [the February 26, 2016 Majlis and Assembly of Experts] elections [in Iran], people who shake hands with Saudi Arabia, England, America, and Israel [and justify this by] saying that this is what the public wants, entered the Majlis..."[1]
Endnote:
[1] Gamnews.ir, March 17, 2016.
