Fugitives’ arrest reveals Iranian role in region

Manama : The arrest of eight fugitives, who were attempting to escape to Iran through the sea last week “highlighted the danger of Iranian influence on terrorist groups in the region,” Iranian opposition said.

Opposition news website, Iran News Update (INU), reported, “The incident serves as a reminder of Iran’s influence in the broader Middle East, especially through terrorist networks that include such groups as Lebanese Hezbollah, the Huthi rebels fighting a civil war in Yemen, and other militants like those recently found to be operating in Bahrain.”

The report mentioned that through supporting such groups, Iran is “competing for influence in the region against Saudi Arabia by using Bahrain as a sectarian battleground.”

INU linked the continuous support of Iran to terrorist groups in the region, especially Bahrain, to the ongoing Saudi-Iranian dispute, which has broadened to become a diplomatic crisis between the Islamic Republic and many regional and Islamic countries, as a response to the continuous controversial Iranian foreign policies.

DT News reported on Sunday that Interior Ministry’s Coast Guard arrested 10 individuals onboard a boat that was en-route to Iran.

Interior Ministry confirmed in a statement issued earlier that “eight fugitives wanted in terrorism related cases were arrested onboard a boat in the waters to the north of the island”.

The ministry clarified that boat captain and his assistant were also wanted and they were arrested along with the eight fugitives.

Moreover, the Ministry’s investigations revealed that the planners of the escape were two wanted Bahrainis for terrorism crimes and are currently sheltered by the Iranian regime.