The Iranian Regime is still a major sponsor of regional terrorist militias and has planted proxy forces in several key areas in order to spread chaos, sectarianism and extremism, according to participants at an annual international security conference in Bahrain.

Bahrain’s Foreign Minister, Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmad Al Khalifa, told attendees at the Manama Dialogue 2017 that the Iranian Regime had a “network of surrogates” ready to commit acts of violence and destruction across the Middle East, West Africa, and Latin America.

He said: “We see this in Yemen clearly, we see it in Syria as well. And we continue to experience Iranian sabotage and terror in our own country. When we look at Iran, we see a stark difference between Iran as a country with a proud people and a rich culture and history and the Islamic Republic as a regime, that impedes the progress of Iran and prioritises regional expansion to the welfare of their own people.”

Shaikh Khalid explained that the Regime malign interference across the region, economic, trade, and cultural ties between the nations had been grossly affected.

He said: “Should Iran stop attempting to export its revolution and return to the fold of responsible members of the international community, the entire region will benefit.”

Terrorism

He also noted that one of the biggest problems that the Iranian Regime was responsible for was terrorism, notably its support for terrorist groups across the Middle East.

He said: “[Iran] continues to train operatives to undertake terrorist acts in Bahrain, and in Kuwait, along with smuggling weapons and explosives and stashing them in the neighbourhoods. We cannot stand by while an armed and dangerous terrorist organization has its way in country after country, and we continue to urge all our friends and allies to recognise Hezbollah for what it really is, a terrorist organization.”

Last weekend’s Manama Dialogue was organised by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).

On Saturday, Sir John Jenkins, Executive Director, IISS-Middle East, said that the rise of the Iranian Regime and other radical Islamist ideologies were the most significant developments in the Middle East in the past three decades.

On Sunday, the experts highlighted cybersecurity as a particular concern after many hacking attempts by the Regime’s Cyber Army and called for a change in focus from the traditional political and military solutions.

The conference called for collaborative partnerships and open dialogues between different countries to foster success in the region and across the world.

Source » ncr-iran