MANAMA: Bahrain's King Hamad on Tuesday proclaimed a three-month state of emergency, a day after a Saudi-led military force entered the in the strategic Gulf state to help put down Shia-led protests.
"Due to the ongoing circumstances in Bahrain ... King Hamad has announced a state of national emergency as of Tuesday for three months," state television said.
IRAN SLAMS GULF FORCE
Armed vigilantes roamed Manama's streets and blocked Bahraini villages Tuesday as Iran condemned a military intervention by Gulf troops to help subdue unrest in the Shias-majority, Sunni-ruled kingdom.
The financial district of Manama was deserted, shops and malls were shuttered and Sunni and Shias vigilantes armed with metal pipes and clubs were seen in the streets of the capital after hundreds of Saudi-led armoured troops rolled into Bahrain from Saudi Arabia.
Witnesses said vigilante groups also blocked access to a number of villages across the kingdom. Women have been told to leave central Manama and activists were distributing surgical masks and eye protectors to defend against tear gas. There were rumours of a march against the Saudi embassy near the financial district later Tuesday.
The troops arrived in Bahrain on Monday to help the Manama government deal with pro-democracy protests which have shaken the strategic Gulf kingdom for the past month. But Iran's foreign ministry described the intervention as unacceptable and said it would complicate the already volatile situation.
"The presence of foreign forces cannot be acceptable and will make the situation more complicated and difficult," ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said.
Television footage showed convoys of unmarked, desert-brown armoured vehicles crossing the causeway from Saudi's Eastern Province into Bahrain, the home of the US Fifth Fleet.
"Basically, we do not think it is right for forces of other countries, specially Persian Gulf countries, to be present or intervene in Bahrain's situation," Mehmanparast told a news conference in Tehran.
"The people of Bahrain have demands, which are legitimate and are being expressed peacefully. Any violence in response to these legitimate demands should be stopped."
More than 200 people were wounded in clashes between police and demonstrators in Manama on Sunday, the worst day of violence since seven people were killed at the start of the protests a month ago.
The country's Shia opposition has vowed to resist any foreign "occupation," and protesters manning a peaceful pro-democracy vigil at a key roundabout in Manama have started preparing for confrontation.
The United Arab Emirates confirmed it had contributed about 500 police to the coalition force. It was not clear if other GCC members were participating. The GCC groups Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
US Defence Secretary Robert Gates held talks with Bahrain's rulers in Manama on Saturday and told them Washington had no evidence that Iran was behind the unrest. The Pentagon said Monday it had no advance warning that Saudi troops and others were being deployed in the Gulf kingdom.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for restraint by all the forces at play in Bahrain, a State Department official said.
The official added Clinton was referring to all events unfolding in Bahrain, including the "increasingly provocative" acts by protesters and government supporters as well as the arrival of Gulf forces.
Neil Partrick, associate at the London-based Royal United Services Institute, a private think-tank on security and defence issues, said the Bahraini regime "was not under any direct threat" of collapse.
He said he expected the GCC force would take a back seat and free the Bahraini security and army to deal with the protests.
"The GCC wants to be seen to be willing to take action against external and internal threats facing the alliance," he said.
Sami al-Faraj, head of Kuwait's Strategic Research Centre, said the Gulf Arab states assumed Iran was meddling in Bahrain's affairs and suspected the protests included "infiltrators backed and funded by foreign parties."
In a major concession to the opposition, Crown Prince Salman said Sunday he supported the creation of a parliament with full powers and pledged to tackle corruption and sectarian tensions.
But his repeated offers of unconditional dialogue have been rebuffed, with the opposition insisting that the government must resign before talks can begin.
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