Bahrain expels Iran diplomat; Tehran threatens retaliation

Iran says move not based on reality; Bahrain has accused Tehran of interfering fomenting Shi'ite unrest in the Sunni-ruled island state.

By REUTERS
Bahraini ruler Sheikh al-Khalifa 311 (R) (photo credit: REUTERS)
Bahraini ruler Sheikh al-Khalifa 311 (R)
(photo credit: REUTERS)
MANAMA - Bahrain has ordered the expulsion of an Iranian diplomat for alleged links to a spy ring in fellow Gulf Arab state Kuwait, state media said, in a further deterioration of relations with Tehran.
Relations between Shi'ite Iran and Gulf Arab states have nosedived since Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates sent troops into the island state, a Sunni Muslim monarchy ruling a Shi'ite majority, to end weeks of pro-democracy protests.
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Bahrain has accused the Islamic Republic of fomenting Shi'ite unrest.
A statement on the Bahrain News Agency late on Monday said the foreign ministry had summoned Iranian charge d'affaires Mehdi Islami to inform him that diplomat Hojjatullah Rahmani had 72 hours to leave "based on his link to the spy cell in Kuwait."
"Bahrain calls on Iran to desist from these serious violations of standards of international relations which are a threat to the security and stability of the region," it said.
This month Kuwait expelled three Iranian diplomats for involvement in an alleged spy ring, prompting Tehran to order three Kuwaiti diplomats to leave Iran.
That was after a Kuwaiti court sentenced two Iranians and a Kuwaiti to death in March for involvement in espionage.
Bahrain, a US ally that hosts the US Fifth Fleet, has also begun the trial of two Iranians and a Bahraini on charges of spying for Iran's Revolutionary Guards.
Iran, which once claimed sovereignty over Bahrain, complained to the United Nations over the recent crackdown that has continued with the arrests of hundreds of activists and deaths of some in police custody.
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said Iran may take "retaliatory measures", Iranian media reported.
"The latest move by the Bahraini Foreign Ministry is against the two countries' good neighborly relations and not based on realities," he was quoted as saying.