The Washington Post reported that Gulf troops will stay indefinitely in Bahrain as a counter to perceived threats from Iran, which the island kingdom’s Sunni rulers have used as a reason for their harsh crackdown on the country’s Shiite opposition. Tehran has no history of political ties to Bahrain’s Shiites, but it has denounced the Saudi-led troop deployment and condemned the crackdown. Bahrain’s opposition leaders have repeatedly denied Iran’s role in a wave of demonstrations and sit-ins by the Gulf country’s Shiite majority demanding greater political freedoms and equal rights. Bahrain’s foreign minister, Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, told reporters on Monday that Iran is a real threat and the Gulf force is needed to counter Tehran’s “sustained campaign” in Bahrain, the host of the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet.
The New York Times published the article headlined “Turkey Disqualifies 12 Pro-Kurdish Politicians From Parliamentary Election.” It says that Turkey’s senior election board on Monday disqualified 12 pro-Kurdish politicians from running for Parliament in the coming election on the grounds that they are legally unfit to be candidates. The unexpected move is likely to anger Kurds in the country’s restive southeast who have been seeking further representation. The board’s action was also likely to face criticism in the European Union, which has been evaluating whether to grant Turkey the full membership it has long sought. European Union officials have advocated that Turkey promote greater participation of Kurds in domestic politics.
The Iranian information agency Press TV reports that Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast says EU's sanctions against certain Iranian officials over alleged human rights abuses are “irrational imitation” of the US. The Iranian spokesperson pointed out that the sanctions aimed to pile up pressure on the Islamic Republic. Mehmanparast said that EU's inaction toward the ongoing suppression of people in the region proved that their claims of supporting human rights were false. Last week, the EU imposed a new round of sanctions, including asset freezes and travel bans, on 32 Iranian officials over alleged human rights abuses. The measures were adopted at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg.
“12 Iranian road engineers kidnapped by gunmen in western Afghanistan” is an article published by the Washington Post. It says that armed assailants kidnapped 12 Iranian engineers building a road in western Afghanistan. Iran Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said the Iranian engineers were working for a construction company in the western Farah Province and the incident was under investigation by Iranian and Afghan authorities. The reason for the discrepancy in the numbers was not immediately clear.
Meanwhile, Press TV reported that Iran's Ambassador to Kabul Fada Hossein Maleki says one of the 12 Iranian engineers abducted in western Afghanistan has been released. He added that the abducted Iranians are reportedly in “healthy condition” and noted that the Afghan government and the Islamic Republic's embassy in Kabul will firmly continue their joint efforts to release other Iranian hostages.
