Israel also has the right to stop Iran threats

Manama : Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa yesterday affirmed the right of countries in the region including that of Israel’s to “defend itself by destroying the sources of danger”.

As long as Iran invades the regions with its forces and missiles, “any countries in the region, including Israel has the right to defend itself,” the minister wrote on his twitter handle. The comments came as Israel and Iran exchanged fire for hours in the Golan Heights, less than two-days after the United States pulled itself out of Iran’s nuclear deal.

The Golan Heights is a rocky plateau in south-western Syria, about 50km from the capital Damascus. Israel occupied most of the area in the 1967 Middle East war and later annexed it in a move not recognised internationally. The attack was one of the heaviest Israeli barrages against Syria since the conflict there began in 2011.

Israel said it has struck almost all of Iran’s military infrastructure inside Syria. The attack came after Iranian forces in Syria launched a rocket attack on Israeli army bases in the Golan Heights. Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Moscow has urged Iran and Israel to avoid acts that could lead to a spiral of conflict.

Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have earlier announced their support for the US withdrawal of the nuke deal in statements issued hours after Trump’s withdrawal. Announcing support, Bahrain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement: “This decision reflects the commitment of the United States to confront Iranian policies and Iran’s continuous attempts to spread terrorism in the region in full violation of international norms and laws.”

The ministry further said that the dropped deal “was characterised by several shortcomings, most important of which was not addressing Iran’s ballistic missile programme, or Iran’s threat to the security and stability of the region.” The deal, Shaikh Khalid tweeted, “freed Iran’s hand to tamper with the security and stability of the region, and today it fell.” 

Agencies