TEHRAN: Gulf Arab monarchies have taken an "emotional" stance by denouncing what they called Tehran's interference in the region, the spokesman for an influential Iranian parliamentary panel said on Monday.
"Iran will never interfere in the internal affairs of its neighbours," Kazem Jalali, spokesman for the hard line foreign policy committee, was quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agency. Jalali said the Gulf Cooperation Council countries "better reconsider their own actions" rather than issuing "emotional statements." The GCC said in a statement Sunday that it was "deeply worried about continuing Iranian meddling" in the region as it accused Tehran of plotting against its national security by fanning sedition among its citizens.
The GCC said the Islamic republic was also "violating the sovereignty" of members of the regional grouping of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait. But Jalali said the behaviour of GCC members was humiliating.
"(The GCC countries) are aware that their dependency on America and their cowardly behaviour towards the Zionist regime is a form of humiliation that they are imposing on their own people," Jalali said.
On Thursday, Jalali's committee had warned Riyadh that it was "playing with fire" by deploying troops in Bahrain to help restore order in the tiny emirate. He said Iran seeks good relations with its Arab neighbours but added the GCC should take "appropriate measures (to meet) the demands of their people." Tensions between Iran and Gulf monarchies have reached a new high, as Tehran insists on supporting the uprisings in the Arab world. The Islamic republic has also severely condemned the brutal crackdown of Bahrain against its Shiite opposition and the intervention of the Saudi military there. Iran says a "Western and Zionist conspiracy" is to blame for regional tensions as its foreign ministry Sunday warned the West was attempting to "sow discord between Islamic countries".
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