Bahrain Minister Warns Iran

September 07, 2007 ;Gulf News Online ;Habib Toumi, Bureau Chief

Manama -- Bahrain's foreign minister Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmad Al Khalifa has warned that "anomalous voices" emanating from Iran against his country were unacceptable. "Every now and then we hear peculiar voices from Iran uttered by some parties. This is unacceptable and does not serve the relations between our two countries," Shaikh Khalid said in a statement on Wednesday. The minister did not name the voices, but he was most likely referring to Hossein Shariatmadari, the editor of the Iranian daily Kayhan, who wrote on July 9 that Bahrain was an integral part of Iran that was taken from it in a Western plot with the Shah's collusion. The Iranian hardliner reiterated his claim on Tuesday, blasting the foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) for advocating a peaceful solution to the dispute over the three UAE islands of Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb, and Abu Mousa through negotiations with Iran. Addressing reporters on the sideline of the Arab foreign ministers' meeting in Cairo, Shaikh Khalid said the Gulf countries were keen on developing economic cooperation with Iran, but added there was a need "to put an end to the threats undermining relations between the GCC states and Iran. "The GCC states have responded positively to the letter from Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki to enter into negotiations to create a free-trade zone. The Gulf states have been positive towards Iran, and we often get positive views from Iran. But, there are anomalous voices that do not serve common interests," he said. Relations between Bahrain and Iran suffered a drawback following the publication of the editorial in July. But the two sides said that they eased the tension during a visit by Mottaki to the kingdom. The foreign ministers of Bahrain and Iran met again in Tehran on Monday at the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit. Arab League backs UN re-election .Bahrain's bid to get re-elected to the United Nations Human Rights Council was backed by the Arab League at the meeting of the Arab foreign ministers, Bahrain News Agency reported on Wednesday. The elections will be held next year.

Suspected Shi'ite Militant Brigade Commander Captured in Iraq
By VOA News 07 September 2007

The U.S. military says U.S. and Iraqi forces have detained a suspected Shi'ite militant leader who led a group of around 750 fighters in southwestern Baghdad. The military said the alleged insurgent brigade commander and another suspect were detained Thursday. The two allegedly cooperated with foreign fighters and assisted other militants in acquiring sniper training in Iran.
Tehran has denied U.S. charges that it is supporting Shi'ite militants in Iraq. The U.S. military also says seven more American troops were killed in combat in Iraq Thursday. In other news, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said he does not support the execution of a former aide to Saddam Hussein for the mass killings of Kurds in the late 1980s. Jalal Talabani (file photo)Mr. Talabani, who is a Kurd, said former defense minister Sultan Hashim al-Tai deserves to be spared because he was carrying out orders and threatened with death if he refused. Mr. Talabani also told a news conference in the northern Iraqi city of Sulaimaniyah that Tai engaged in official contact with the Kurdish community under the ousted Saddam government.
Earlier this week, an Iraqi appeals court upheld the death sentences imposed against Tai and two other former officials for the killing of 180,000 Kurds in the so-called Anfal campaign.