Bahrain Mirror: Former Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir Abdollahian, who is currently an advisor to the foreign minister, underlined the wide rift between the Bahraini people and government, stressing that the ruling Al Khalifa regime is like a puppet in Riyadh's hands.

Addressing the fact that the Bahraini Prime Minister, Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, is the longest-serving current premier in the world, Amir Abdollahian said: "The prime minister in Bahrain has been in office since 1971 to date. This is while the Bahraini foreign minister has called for the removal of Bashar al-Assad, the legal president of Syria."

"I told the British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond during talks last year ‘you speak of democracy in Syria while supporting the Bahraini regime, whose prime minister has been in office for 44 years," he further noted.

"By adopting a military and security approach against Bahrain's majority, the Al Khalifa has created a wide rift between the government and people," stressed Amir Abdollahian, who was also former Iranian envoy to Manama.

"The basic problem of the Bahraini government is that it is under Saudi Arabia's hegemony," he added.

Arabic Version