The Bahraini state news agency, Bahrain News Agency (BNA), reported that “A secret terrorist plot aided by the so-called Iranian Revolutionary Guard and the Hezbollah terrorist organization was foiled.” The BNA said “a main suspect, Ali Ahmed Fakhrawi, had traveled to Lebanon and personally met the head of the Shi’ite militant group Hezbollah, who gave him $20,000 to aid the cell.” There was no immediate reaction from Iran, which has been regularly accused of involvement in attacks in Bahrain.
Marc Owen Jones questioned the veracity of the report, noting that the government “has frequently attempted to draw direct connections between Iran and the unrest in Bahrain.” However, he says, “Usually the evidence provided to support such claims is questionable, and, the Bahraini government have often invoked existential threats at strategic moments in order to justify draconian security measures,” [sic] citing a similar incident in 1975. Jones concludes past reports, including the BICI “contained no evidence of any Iranian threat in 2011, and evidence produced by the government shall always be tainted by the fact the government have shown no real commitment to reform post-2011.”
Tyler Pry is an Advocacy Intern at ADHRB
Photo courtesy of Arabian Business
