US embassy cable - 05MANAMA344

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