Mike Pompeo Claims without Evidence That Iran Is Al-Qaida's New 'Home Base'

THE GUARDIAN: Move seems designed to restrict Biden administration’s options as secretary of state confirms killing of al-Qaida leader in August

The US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, has claimed, without providing evidence, that al-Qaida leaders have established a new “home base” in the Iran, in what appeared to be his latest effort to raise the political cost of the next administration reviving the 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran.

Speaking with just eight days left in office, Pompeo alleged that Iran was “the new Afghanistan”, telling a news conference in Washington: “Unlike in Afghanistan, when al-Qaida was hiding in the mountains, al-Qaida today is operating under the hard shell of the Iranian regime’s protection.” » | Julian Borger in Washington | Tuesday, January 12, 2021

This assertion appears to be manifestly absurd! Al-Qaeda is a Sunni terrorist group. Iran is Shia. Sunnis and Shiites hate each other with a vengeance. This alone makes Pompeo’s assertion highly unlikely to be true. Pompeo is playing to people’s ignorance. He, in his position, should know better than this. The man needs to go back to school! – ©Mark Alexander

Obama Says Russian Strategy in Syria Is ‘Recipe for Disaster’

Barack Obama speaks to reporters in the White House:
'[Putin] doesn't distinguish between Isil and a moderate
Sunni opposition that wants to see Mr Assad go.'

THE GUARDIAN: US president’s comments follow coalition’s expression of deep concerns over targeting in Russian bombing campaign

Russia’s failure to distinguish between Islamic State fighters and moderate opposition forces battling against Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, is a “recipe for disaster,” Barack Obama has said, as more evidence emerged that Moscow is targeting anti-regime rebels and not just Isis.

The US president said his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, “doesn’t distinguish between Isil [Isis] and a moderate Sunni opposition that wants to see Mr Assad go. From their perspective, they’re all terrorists. And that’s a recipe for disaster.”

A statement released earlier on Friday by the US-led coalition fighting Isis expressed deep concern about attacks by the Russian air force on Hama, Homs and Idlib. The attacks did not hit the jihadi group but caused civilian casualties.

“These military actions constitute a further escalation and will only fuel more extremism and radicalisation,” said the statement by France, Germany, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the US and Britain. “We call on the Russian federation to immediately cease its attacks on the Syrian opposition and civilians and to focus its efforts on fighting Isil.” » | Shaun Walker in Moscow Lauren Gambino in New York Ian Black in London and Kareem Shaheen in Beirut | Friday, October 2, 2015

The Watchman: Sunni And Shia Jihadists Battle

On this week's edition of The Watchman, we sit down with leading Middle East analyst Elliot Chodoff to discuss the ongoing battle between Sunni and Shia jihadists in the region and what it means for America and Israel.

Sunnis in Iran (How Sunni Muslims Live in a Shiite Country?)

At the time of the Egyptian crisis, Ahmad Mustafa, an economic and political analyst from Egypt, finds an opportunity to travel to Iran to meet and talk Sunni people; an 11000 kilometer journey; a memorable visit, from the country’s most important decision-making centers to its most outlying border areas, from the green strands of the Caspian Sea forests to the Khorasan and Baluchistan desert areas and the high mountains of Kurdistan. On this journey he hopes he will know the real Iran, a country frequently misrepresented by Western and Arab media. How Sunni Muslims live in a Shiite country? That’s the question that’s brought Ahmad Mustafa to Iran.

The Prophet's Curse: Islam's Ancient Divide Fuels Middle East Conflicts

SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: They began as a cry for freedom in the Middle East, but the Arab rebellions have become increasingly characterized by an ancient sectarian conflict between Sunni and Shiite Muslims. SPIEGEL examines how the power struggle between the two groups is sparking new fears along old frontlines.

In the countries that follow the Muslim faith, the lines between past and present often blur, making it seem as though the past is not over, and certainly not forgiven. Indeed, the past can come terribly alive here, and it can turn terribly deadly, again and again, every day.

When representatives from around the world convened in the Iranian capital of Tehran last Thursday for the start of a Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, an annual meeting of 120 nations that view themselves as not aligned for or against any major powers, the focus was suddenly on 1,300-year-old battles, murders and power struggles. The host was Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a Shiite. Next to him on the dais was Egypt's new president, Mohammed Morsi, a Sunni.

Morsi began his opening address with a mention of the Prophet Muhammad, but then continued: "May Allah's blessing be upon our masters Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali."

Iranian media immediately took the statement as a provocation. Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman were Muhammad's successors after the Prophet's death in 632. Sunni Muslims venerate them as the first caliphs -- but Shiite Muslims consider them usurpers and traitors to the faith, hated figures whose very names should not be spoken. Muhammad's true successor, Shiites say, was Ali, their first imam, who later fought against the other three before being murdered. » | Christoph Reuter | Thursday, September 06, 2012

London-Based Shiite Cleric Yasser Al-Habib in Anti-Sunni Rhetoric: The Caliph Omar Had an Anal Disease that Made Him Addicted to Homosexuality | Fadak TV (U.K.) - May 24, 2012

Lebanese Islamists Support Syria Uprising
Islamist groups in Lebanon's second city of Tripoli have demonstrated to show support for the uprising in neighbouring Syria.

Sunni Muslims Banned from Holding Own Eid Prayers in Tehran
THE GUARDIAN: Security police block access to houses rented by Sunni minority for worship

Sunni Muslims in Tehran have been banned from congregating at prayers marking the end of Ramadan.

Iran, a Shia country, ordered its Sunni minority not to hold separate prayers in Tehran for Eid al-Fitr, the Muslim festival that brings the month of fasting to an end. They were instead asked to have a Shia imam leading their prayers – something that is against their religious beliefs.

Hundreds of security police were deployed in the capital to prevent Sunni worshippers from entering houses they rent for religious ceremonies. » | Saeed Kamali Dehghan | Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Mistrust Abounds as Bahrain to Lift Emergency Law
ZAWYA: MANAMA - Tanks have begun withdrawing from Manama's streets ahead of the planned lifting Wednesday of a state of emergency enacted amid a crackdown on demonstrators but mistrust still abounds in Bahrain.

Backed by Saudi-led Gulf troops, Bahraini forces in mid-March crushed the Shiite-led pro-democracy demonstrations that had paralysed central Manama, the capital of Sunni-ruled Bahrain, for a month.

Authorities continued with a crackdown on Shiites, who make up the majority of the kingdom's population, storming their villages and arresting hundreds of men and women, mostly for the mere accusation of supporting the peaceful protests.

But with the apparent gradual return to normality, stories are told behind closed doors of continued persecution of Shiites and mass dismissals from public-sector jobs for people accused of participating in the protests.

Sunnis, on the other hand, have been radicalised, with many of them welcoming the government's heavy-handed approach as a measure that saved the tiny kingdom from an Iranian-backed[A] Shiite plot to overthrow the regime.

Many do not trust the Shiites. » | Ali Khalil | Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Saudi Troops Sent to Crush Bahrain Protests 'Had British Training'
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Saudi Arabian troops sent into Bahrain to crush a popular uprising may have had British military training, the Government has admitted.

The British Government has said it is "deeply concerned" by reports of human rights abuses in Bahrain, where the ruling royal family has used Saudi troops to put down Shi'ite demonstrations.

The Sunni royal family in Saudi Arabia fears the growing influence of Shi'ite Iran in the Middle East, and is helping Bahrain's Sunni rulers retain power.

The Ministry of Defence has now admitted that members of the Saudi Arabian National Guard sent into Bahrain may have received military training from the British Armed Forces in Saudi Arabia.

The revelation is likely to renew allegations that the Coalition is sending mixed messages on democracy in the Middle East.

Despite British criticism of the Bahrainis' actions, David Cameron last week welcomed the Crown Prince of Bahrain to Downing Street, drawing criticism from human rights groups. » | James Kirkup, Political Correspondent | Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Patrick Cockburn: Bahrain Is Trying to Drown the Protests in Shia Blood
THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY: World View: Claiming that the opposition is being orchestrated by Iran, the al-Khalifa regime has unleashed a vicious sectarian clampdown

"Let us drown the revolution in Jewish blood" was the slogan of the tsars when they orchestrated pogroms against Jews across Russia in the years before the First World War. The battle-cry of the al-Khalifa monarchy in Bahrain ever since they started to crush the pro-democracy protests in the island kingdom two months ago might well be "to drown the revolution in Shia blood". Just as the tsars once used Cossacks to kill and torture Jews and burn their synagogues, so Bahrain's minority Sunni regime sends out its black-masked security forces night after night to terrorise the majority Shia population for demanding equal political and civil rights.

Usually troops and police make their raids on Shia districts between 1am and 4am, dragging people from their beds and beating them in front of their families. Those detained face mistreatment and torture in prison. One pro-democracy activist, Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, brought before a military court last week with severe facial injuries, said he had suffered four fractures to the left side of his face, including a broken jaw that needed four hours' surgery.

The suppression of the protests came after Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Co-operation Council – also known as the "kings' club" of six Gulf monarchs – sent 1,500 troops to Bahrain to aid the crackdown, which began on 15 March. It soon became clear that the government is engaged in a savage onslaught on the entire Shia community – some 70 per cent of the population – in Bahrain.

First came a wave of arrests with about 1,000 people detained, of whom the government claims some 300 have been released, though it will not give figures for those still under arrest. Many say they were tortured and, where photographs of those who died under interrogation are available, they show clear marks of beating and whipping. There is no sign yet that King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa's declaration that martial law will end on 1 June is anything more than a propaganda exercise to convince the outside world, and foreign business in particular, that Bahrain is returning to normal.

The repression is across the board. Sometimes the masked security men who raid Shia villages at night also bulldoze Shia mosques and religious meeting places. At least 27 of these have so far been wrecked or destroyed, while anti-Shia and pro-government graffiti is often sprayed on any walls that survive. » | Patrick Cockburn | Sunday, May 15, 2011

Security Forces Target Bahrain Medics
The second part of Al Jazeera's exclusive report on Bahrain looks at the abuse of medical workers as part of the government's crackdown on dissent

Crackdown reins in Bahrain activists
The once massive pro-democracy protests in Bahrain has been reduced to small clashes between youth and police in predominantly Shia areas.



Security forces have allegedly launched a brutal crackdown on protesters with beatings and sweeping arrests. Nearly 1000 demonstrators have been imprisoned, among them doctors, artists and lawyers. 



The UN High Commissioner for Human rights Navi Pillay says severe torture is being used against prisoners, and he is calling on the Bahraini government to stop intimidating and harassing human rights defenders and political activists. 



May Welsh reports. [May 6, 2011]

Bahrain Protests: 'Ex-Shia MPs Detained' Amid Crackdown
BBC: Bahrain has arrested two former members of parliament from the main Shia opposition party, al-Wefaq, members of the group say.

The arrest of Matar Matar and Jawad Fairuz is the latest step in Bahrain's crackdown on pro-democracy protesters.

The Sunni rulers declared martial law in March to crush the protests led by the country's Shia majority, who are demanding greater political rights.

Since then, hundreds of people have been detained. Four have died in jail.

The unrest in Bahrain started on 14 February, when protesters - emboldened by uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt - took to the streets urging democratic reform. Some have called for the overthrow of the monarchy.

About 30 people, including four policemen, were killed during weeks of unrest, until the ruling al-Khalifa family called in troops from other Sunni-ruled Gulf neighbours, including Saudi Arabia, to put down the protests. » | Tuesday, April 03, 2011

Bahrain in the Shadow of Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United States
CNN: There are disturbing accounts from major human rights organizations about abuses in Bahrain and the systematic state violence that has been unleashed on the opposition movement against the monarchy of the Al-Khalifa family.

And yet Bahrain has not become the story because the movement for social justice, government accountability and independence is being violently suppressed, but because of wider strategic calculations that bind the fate of the island to the future of regional politics.

There are at least three strategic issues at stake when it comes to the political present and future of the country. First, Bahrain hosts a major naval base for the U.S. fifth fleet, and the ruling Al-Khalifa family has been a trusted ally of the United States for several decades.

Yet Bahrain's rulers have not taken advantage of the security guarantees provided by successive U.S. governments in order to open up the political system or to sponsor a rather more equitable social and economic order.

According to the constitution of Bahrain the king appoints all members of the upper house of the parliament, while the lower house was voted into office in 2010.

But this has not lead to real political representation of the majority Shia population or to a system of wealth distribution that is equitable. In fact, Bahrain continues to be one of the few hereditary monarchies of the world.

In the absence of a strong legitimacy of the state, systematic violence has functioned as a short cut to safeguard the regime. Hence, the current crackdown, which has not drawn much criticism from the United States and the European Union, who were/are by far louder about the situation in Libya (and indeed about anything that happens in Iran). » | Arshin Adib-Moghaddam, Special to CNN | Monday, April 25, 2011

Editor's note: Arshin Adib-Moghaddam is University Lecturer in Comparative and International Politics at SOAS, University of London. He is the author of "Iran in World Politics: the Question of the Islamic Republic," and his most recent book, "A metahistory of the clash of civilizations: Us and them beyond Orientalism" has just been published by Columbia University Press and Hurst.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Arshin Adib-Moghaddam.

Listening Post - Bahrain: Below the Radar
On this week's show: Bahrain - a small kingdom cracking down on the media in a big way. Plus, a look at state media in post-revolution Egypt

Bahrain Security Forces 'Tortured Patients'
THE INDEPENDENT: Bahrain’s security forces stole ambulances and posed as medics to round up injured protesters during a ferocious crackdown on unarmed demonstrators calling for reform of the monarchy, an investigation by a rights group reveals today.

The first major report on repression of the medical profession during the country’s crisis details how a doctor was abducted during an operation and injured patients lying in hospital were tortured and threatened with rape.

The investigation by Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) followed a report by The Independent yesterday detailing threats faced by medical staff who treated victims of the repression. More than 30 medics have been taken away by security forces and have had little or no contact with their families.

The report said it found that security forces targeted Shia doctors in particular. The crackdown has created such a climate of fear that wounded people were too frightened to go to hospital to seek treatment. » | Patrick Cockburn | Friday, April 22, 2011

Bahrain Escapes Censure by West as Crackdown on Protesters Intensifies
THE INDEPENDENT: Saudi troops' demolition of mosques stokes religious tensions

Bahraini government forces backed by Saudi Arabian troops are destroying mosques and places of worship of the Shia majority in the island kingdom in a move likely to exacerbate religious hatred across the Muslim world.

"So far they have destroyed seven Shia mosques and about 50 religious meeting houses," said Ali al-Aswad, an MP in the Bahraini parliament.

He said Saudi soldiers, part of the 1,000-strong contingent that entered Bahrain last month, had been seen by witnesses helping demolish Shia mosques and shrines in the Sunni-ruled kingdom.

Mohammed Sadiq, of the Justice for Bahrain organisation, said the most famous of the Shia shrines destroyed was that of a revered Bahraini Shia spiritual leader, Sheikh Abdul Amir al-Jamri, who died in 2006. A photograph taken by activists and seen by The Independent shows the golden dome of the shrine lying on the ground and later being taken away on the back of a lorry. On the walls of Shia mosques that have been desecrated, graffiti has been scrawled praising the Sunni King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa and insulting the Shia.

The attack on Shia places of worship has provoked a furious reaction among the 250 million Shia community, particularly in Iran and Iraq, where Shia are in a majority, and in Lebanon where they are the largest single community.

The Shia were already angry at the ferocious repression by Bahraini security forces of the pro-democracy movement, which had sought to be non-sectarian. After the monarchy had rejected meaningful reform, the wholly Sunni army and security forces started to crush the largely Shia protests on 15 and 16 March.

The harshness of the government repression is provoking allegations of hypocrisy against Washington, London and Paris. Their mild response to human rights abuses and the Saudi Arabian armed intervention in Bahrain is in stark contrast to their vocal concern for civilians in Libya. » | Patrick Cockburn in Cairo | Tuesday, April 19, 2011

A Chilling Account of the Brutal Clampdown Sweeping Bahrain
THE OBSERVER: Mahmoud, a Shia who lives near Bahrain's capital tells how Saudi soldiers wage a campaign of sectarian violence

Since the Gulf soldiers came to Bahrain, life in the Shia villages and suburbs of the capital, Manama, has been non-stop intimidation, violence and threats. Even trying to move around in normal ways has become life-threatening. They are trying to beat down the opposition with a long campaign against us.

I live in one of the villages near Manama. One night about 7.30pm, I parked in front of my father-in-law's house and walked towards the door, when at least 50 armed and masked thugs – they were not in security forces uniform – appeared from one of the village lanes and told me to stop, pointing their shotguns at me. I ran away and they followed, but I managed to hide in one of the houses and they did not see me.

I heard them talking to each other, saying: "Don't worry, we will find him." I was taking a look from the window and they stayed at the car park opposite the house I was hiding in, and they were smashing the windows of parked cars and wrecking and stealing from them. Some had Saudi accents; they are very different from Bahraini and easy to tell.

At 8pm most nights people go up on their roofs and chant Allahu Akbar ["God is greatest"] and the thugs start shooting randomly in the air and at the top of the roofs. That night the area was covered with tear-gas grenades and rubber bullets, while the roads around the house were deserted except for thugs. » | 'Mahmoud' | Saturday, April 16, 2011

Bahrain Braced for New Wave of Repression
THE OBSERVER: Arrests and troop movements signal another government crackdown on protests in the tiny Gulf state

Bahrain is braced for a fresh bout of violent repression as new arrests and the alleged death of a female student fuel sectarian tensions in the tiny Gulf state.

Armoured vehicles and security forces were reported to be gathering in the streets of the capital, Manama, and in surrounding suburbs and villages.

Meanwhile, evidence has emerged that Saudi forces have been involved in violence against the opposition in the mainly Shia villages and suburbs around Manama. In a graphic eyewitness account of the repression given to the Observer, a Bahraini who has been caught up in the violence claimed that officers with Saudi accents, in plainclothes but armed with automatic weapons, had led attacks on members of the Shia opposition on several occasions over the past month.

When Saudi and UAE troops from the Gulf Peninsula Shield force entered the kingdom at the request of the government last month, it was said that they were there to guard strategic buildings and infrastructure.

Reports from the city said that a young woman – beaten up last month by government supporters at Bahrain University – had died. A family member confirmed her death but the circumstances remained unclear. Arrests of lawyers and doctors working for the opposition continued. » | Foreign staff | Saturday, April 16, 2011