Bahrain submits complaint against Iran to UN

New York, Oct. 2 (BNA): The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, met UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meetings. He conveyed the greetings of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, the Prime Minister, His Royal Highness Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, and the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister, His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, to the UN Secretary General and their good wishes for the success of the 70th session of the UN General Assembly. A number of regional and international issues of mutual interest were discussed, in addition to issues on the agenda of the 70th session of the UN General Assembly. During the meeting, the minister expressed his sincere thanks to the UN Secretary General on the occasion of the Prime Minister, His Royal Highness Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, being awarded the Information and Communication Technology in Sustainable Development Award by the International Telecommunication Union. Shaikh Khalid presented the UN Secretary General a book documenting the strong relationship and fruitful cooperation extended over the years between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the United Nations, praising the tangible international efforts to establish a world that is more secure and prosperous. The UN Secretary General praised the keenness of the Kingdom of Bahrain to develop ties with the UN and support all of its efforts aimed at bolstering international security and peace as well as the Kingdom’s efforts to achieve the developmental goals that the UN seeks to achieve, this is in addition to the outstanding developmental achievements by the Kingdom. He expressed his appreciation to the Kingdom of Bahrain for hosting the ministerial conference on implementing these goals in Arab countries in the coming period. During the meeting, Shaikh Khalid presented a formal complaint against the Islamic Republic of Iran for its blatant violations and the continued unacceptable interference in the internal affairs of the Kingdom of Bahrain, which is fully committed to the principles of good neighborliness and mutual respect. He said that Iran has chosen the path of escalation in an attempt to exert control over its neighbours by continuing to interfere in internal affairs, exploitation of extremist groups, the provision of safe haven to fugitives and the opening of training camps for terrorist groups, smuggling arms and explosives, that resulted in citizens, expatriates and security personnel being targets of murder and criminal acts that so far claimed 16 lives from security personnel and injured 3,000. Shaikh Khalid noted that the Kingdom of Bahrain did not have a choice but to take the decision to withdraw the Kingdom's ambassador accredited to the Islamic Republic of Iran and to consider the acting Iranian Embassy to the Kingdom of persona non grata, in order to enhance the security of the Kingdom and the safety of its people and protect its interests. The minister affirmed that the Kingdom of Bahrain is keen to restore relations to their normal level, but only after Iran takes positive, concrete steps, desists from practices and interference in Bahrain's affairs and shows commitment to the principles of good neighbourliness and mutual respect.