Iran, which recalled its ambassador, condemned the crackdown in Bahrain
and warned of a backlash. Bahrain has accused Iran of supporting the Shi'ite
opposition with both money, equipment and political support.
"What has happened is bad, unjustifiable and irreparable," Iranian
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said.
The crackdown, which sparked protests in Iran, Iraq and Lebanon, came
in wake of the declaration of a state of emergency in Bahrain. The state of
emergency included restrictions on gatherings as well as a curfew from 4
p.m. to 4 a.m. throughout much of Manama.
Western diplomats said Iran, which on March 17 reported a space launch,
could directly intervene in Bahrain should
the Shi'ites face continued bloodshed. They said Western embassies were
urging their nationals to leave Bahrain immediately.
"When the Gulf states now send military units to the small and
prosperous island state, there is a very critical risk that the situation
will instead be seen as part of a broader confrontation," Swedish Foreign
Minister Carl Bildt said. "While there was most likely initially no Iranian
interference, the opportunities for Iran to take advantage of the situation
now undeniably grow."
Shi'ite opposition sources said the Bahraini crackdown was enabled by
Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Cooperation Council forces. They said at least
5,000 troops from Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were
operating in Bahrain.
"This was a major and a dangerous decision because this issue has been
internationalized now," Jassim Hussein, a member of the opposition Shi'ite
bloc in parliament, said. "It has been internationalized and there was no
reason when our demands were local demands and nothing to do with Saudi
Arabia or the United Arab Emirates."
The Bahrain Army has been deploying U.S.-origin armored personnel
carriers and main battle tanks in the offensive against the opposition. The
army contains M-60A3 MBTs as well as M-113 APCs.
"We saw the tanks [M-60s] run over demonstrators," an opposition source
said.
U.S.-origin Bell 212 helicopters provided reconnaissance of the Shi'ite
camp while anti-riot police, some of them who wore masks, fired tear gas
toward Pearl Square. Shi'ite protesters hurled firebombs toward the security
forces in a two-hour battle.
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