CAIRO: Egypt said Wednesday Gulf states’ Arab identity is a "red line" after they accused Iran of trying to destabilize Bahrain, while praising a Saudi-led force that quelled pro-democracy protests there.
In a statement, Egypt’s foreign minister Nabil Al-Araby said "the stability and Arabhood of the Arab Gulf countries is a red line against which Egypt rejects any trespass."
The statement was in response to a Gulf ministerial meeting on Monday that accused Iran of interfering in Bahrain and Kuwait in a bid to destabilize the region.
The protests in Bahrain were spearheaded by the country’s marginalized Shia majority, prompting Gulf states to accuse Shia Iran of orchestrating the protests in the Sunni-led country.
The government says 24 people including four policemen were killed in the crackdown, which according to the United Nations saw arbitrary arrests and killings and seizure of medical facilities.
Bahraini police have been reinforced with more than 1,000 armored troops from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states, but the foreign forces have kept a low profile.
Al-Araby said that Gulf countries "succeeded in moving in a coordinated fashion to preserve the security of Bahrain, giving a practical application to the concept of collective security in the Gulf region."
The minister, himself appointed to his post by virtue of a pro-democracy movement that toppled the former regime in February, also "welcomed the results of the latest ministerial meeting for the Gulf Cooperation Council."
Egypt itself has had no formal diplomatic relations with Iran for decades but Al-Araby said earlier this week his country wished to improve ties with the Islamic republic.
