Bahrain summons Iran envoy over 'interference'

Bahrain summoned Irans charge daffaires on Monday in protest at interference by Tehran in the internal affairs of the Gulf kingdom, the foreign ministry said.Tehrans envoy Mahdi Islami was summoned to address his countrys interference in the kingdoms internal affairs through deliberately attributing false information to Bahraini officials, the ministry said.Undersecretary Hamad al-Amer told Irans envoy that his countrys conduct incites sedition and sectarianism in Shiite-majority Bahrain which is ruled by the Sunni Al-Khalifa dynasty, it said.He also dismissed claims in Iranian media that Manama had requested Iranian mediation in domestic affairs as false.Any interference in Bahrains domestic affairs through mediation or other methods, as well as in dealing with its citizens, is unacceptable and would be an encroachment on its sovereignty and independence, he said.The protest followed a meeting between Irans representative and the spiritual leader of the Shiite opposition, Ayatollah Issa Qassem.The main Shiite opposition, Al-Wefaq, said in a statement that the meeting between Islami and Qassem took place in response to a Bahraini demand for mediation.Iran has been supportive of protests by Bahrains Shiite against the Saudi-backed monarchy, sparking a diplomatic crisis not only with the small kingdom but also with the areas economic powerhouse.Bahrain came under strong criticism from international human rights groups over last years crackdown on protests.An international panel commissioned by King Hamad to probe the governments clampdown found that excessive force and torture had been used against protesters and detainees.But it said there was no proof of a link between Iran and anti-regime protests last year.Bahrain, home to the US Fifth Fleet and strategically situated across the Gulf from Iran, has continued to witness sporadic demonstrations, mostly outside the capital Manama, since it crushed the protest movement in March 2011.