Foreign Minister participates in meeting of Arab Quartet Committee on Iran

Tunis, Mar. 29 (BNA): Minister of Foreign Affairs, Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, today participated in the meeting of the Arab Ministerial Quartet Committee on the follow-up to the crisis with Iran and ways to deal with its interference in the internal affairs of the Arab States. The Quartet Committee, comprising the Kingdom of Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Secretary General of the Arab League, held its meeting here on the sidelines of the preparatory meeting of the Arab Foreign Ministers ahead of the Arab Summit in its 30th ordinary session. During the meeting, the Ministerial Committee discussed the developments of the crisis with Iran, the course of the Arab relations with Iran and the ways to deal with Iranian interference in the internal affairs of the Arab countries. The Committee has issued a statement condemning Iran’s continued interference in the internal affairs of the Kingdom of Bahrain and its support of terrorism, training and harboring terrorists, igniting sectarian strife. The meeting also decried Iran’s issuance of hostile statements at various levels in order to destabilize the security and stability of the region and create terrorist groups in the Kingdom of Bahrain and offering them funds and training from the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and its arms, Ahlul Al Haq brigades and the terrorist group of Hezbollah. The Committee also welcomed the decisions of a number of countries to classify the so-called Iran-based terrorist Saraya Al-Ashtar in the Kingdom of Bahrain as a terrorist organization, and include a number of its members on the terrorism list. The step reflects the determination of the world states to combat terrorism, its funders and supporters, at regional and international levels and support the efforts of the Kingdom of Bahrain and its actions in promoting security, stability and peace in the region. The Committee stressed the importance of the report submitted by the Kingdom of Bahrain to the 150th Session of the Council of the League of Arab States on Iran's Intervention in the Internal Affairs of the Kingdom of Bahrain during the period from January to December 2018. The report confirms Iran's continued support for terrorism and its provocative actions aiming to destabilize security and stability in the Kingdom. It also shows the incompatibility of Iranian actions with the principle of good neighborliness and its disrespect for the sovereignty and stability of the neighboring states and the need for non-interference in their internal affairs in line with the principles of the United Nations Charter and international law. The Committee affirmed absolute support to the Kingdom of Bahrain in all the measures it has taken to maintain its security and stability and condemned the ongoing Iranian interference in the internal affairs of the Arab countries and the Iranian officials’ continued provocative statements against the Arab states. The meeting expressed its deep concern about Iran's ignition of sectarian strife in the Arab countries, including its support and armament of the terrorist militias in some Arab countries. The committee says that despite calls on Iran to cease spreading chaos, it turned deaf ears to cause disarray and instability in the region posing threats to the Arab national security and impeding regional and international efforts to solve issues and crises through peaceful means. The meeting condemned Iran's continued development of its ballistic missile program and its supply of Iranian-made rockets to Al-Houthi's terrorist group to target the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, launching so far more than 200 ballistic missiles on a number of Saudi cities.