DUBAI: Bahrain's foreign minister floated the idea of expanding military bases within a bloc of Gulf Arab allies that helped Manama quash protests it blamed rival power Iran for stoking. Sheikh Khalid Al-Khalifa said in an interview with PBS Newshour Wednesday evening that concerns over Iranian interference may push the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to reshape its Gulf military presence. The opposition had hoped that the GCC would pull out of Bahrain when emergency law, imposed in March, ends on June 1. “Any threat that any country would face would definitely, no doubt, affect its neighbors. We are looking at the GCC force to be expanded, to have multi-bases everywhere in the GCC,” he told the US television program. “So whether they leave or stay or be restructured, that's what is to be discussed in the future,” he said. Bahrain's rulers imposed emergency law and called in troops from neighboring Gulf countries in March to quash protests demanding democratic reforms. Some hardliners had called for a republic. Non-Arab Iran, just across Gulf waters, has issued several statements condemning the GCC troops' presence in the country. Bahraini protesters insist they have no ties to Iran. Sheikh Khalid told Newshour that Bahrain was getting a “daily barrage” of statements from Iran that worried the tiny Gulf island country. “I can tell you that they have people sympathising with them here,” he said, adding that not all protesters were siding with Iran. “There's definitely an Iranian interest group in Bahrain.” A military court Thursday sentenced nine people to 20 years in prison after they were convicted of kidnapping a policeman. One of the men sentenced was a prominent religious cleric and political activist. International and local rights groups have criticized the government for the severity of its security sweep, in which masked troops manned checkpoints throughout the city and hundreds of people, mostly activists or politicians, were arrested. At least four detainees have died in custody. Some 1,000 protesters in Manama rallied Wednesday evening but several religious clerics urged them to return home. Some of the demonstrators vowed to gather again after prayers Friday, a day which has taken on great significance since pro-democracy protests began sweeping the Arab region. Protesters have used Friday prayers to mobilize larger crowds. In his Newshour interview, Sheikh Khalid said that a security presence would still be high after emergency law is lifted despite the removal of tanks and military from the streets.
