IRAN DENIES ALLEGATIONS IT WAS BEHIND PIPELINE ATTACK
TEHRAN Iran has denied allegations it was behind a militant attack on a pipeline outside Bahrain’s capital.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi was quoted by the state-run IRNA news agency Sunday as rejecting “baseless and fake claims” and “childish finger-pointing” from Bahraini authorities.
Bahrain has been combating a low-level insurgency since the Sunni monarchy quashed a 2011 Arab Spring uprising led by majority Shiites.
Bahrain’s interior minister, Sheikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, said Saturday’s blast was “the latest example of a terrorist act performed by terrorists in direct contact with and under instruction from Iran.”
Gulf tensions have intensified in recent days after Sunni-led Saudi Arabia blamed Shiite Iran for a ballistic missile fired by Yemen’s Shiite rebels that was intercepted near Riyadh. Iran has denied any involvement.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest crude exporter, said it will raise security at its oil facilities after the fire at the pipeline that connects the two Arab allies. The plan to step up security was reported by Al-Arabiya television.
Bahrain’s Interior Ministry said recent terrorist activities in Bahrain were directed by Iran, and security forces determined that the fire was intentional. The pipeline resumed pumping oil later in the day after a brief halt, the state-run Bahrain News Agency reported.