“The Kingdom believes that such irresponsible comments are only an attempt to defy historical and geographic facts, and are a brazen breach of the sovereignty of a member of the GCC, Arab League and the United Nations,” the statement said. ?The source said: “The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia categorically rejects such statements and expresses its deep regret over such views, stressing that such remarks create obstacles in the way of good intentions aiming to build good-neighborly relations between the GCC states and Iran based on friendliness and mutual respect as well as initiatives to achieve security and stability in the region and avert a rift between Muslims.”
Iranian officials and media figures last week said that Bahrain used to be Iran’s 14th governorate and once had a representative in its parliament. Iranian MP Darioush Ghanbari said that if Bahrainis were to vote in a referendum, they would choose to be part of Iran.
Other regional Arab heavyweights weighed into the dispute with an outpouring of support for Bahrain over the alleged remarks.
Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak visited Bahrain Monday. An official said the visit was to show solidarity with Bahrain, which Wednesday halted negotiations with Iran over a major gas import deal.
