Hawzah News Agency (Tehran, Iran)- Here are some excerpts from the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei’s remarks regarding the situation in Bahrain:

The U.S. seeks to pass off the Bahraini uprising as a Shia-Sunni conflict

In terms of its nature the issue of Bahrain is essentially the same as the issues of other regional countries. That is to say, the issue of Bahrain is not at all different from the issue of Egypt and Tunisia. It is all about a nation whose government ignores its rights. What is the goal of the popular uprising of the Bahraini people? Their main demand is that there should be elections in which each person can have one vote. Is this too much to expect? In Bahrain there is a superficial democratic façade, but the Bahraini people cannot really vote. They are being oppressed. Westerners took this opportunity to interfere in the affairs of the regional countries by bringing up a new issue: the Shia-Sunni issue. Just because the poor people of Bahrain happen to be Shia, nobody in the world should support them. The TV channels that used to cover the details of the regional issues should now be silent about the events in Bahrain. They should not reflect the killing of the people of Bahrain. And then some people in Persian Gulf States - whether politicians or journalists - start talking nonsense, saying that the issue of Bahrain is a Shia-Sunni war. What Shia-Sunni war? It is the protest of a nation against the oppression that is being imposed on it, just like what happened in Tunisia and Egypt and just like what is happening in Libya and Yemen: there is no difference.

The Americans would be happy to use their propaganda machines in the region and pass off the issue of Bahrain as a Shia-Sunni conflict. They would be happy to both block the support that is offered to the oppressed Bahraini people and to change the nature of issues and promote them. They ask why Iran is supporting the people of Bahrain. Well, we support everybody. We have been supporting the Palestinian people for 32 years. Which country, which government and which nation has offered support to the Palestinian nation during the past 32 years? Are the Palestinian people Shia? Our people made a lot of efforts regarding the issue of Gaza. Once our youth went to the airport, prepared to go to Gaza. They wanted to go to Gaza and fight Israel. They thought they could do so, but they would not let them in. We told them not to go. We stopped them because we did not want them to get blocked outside the borders of Gaza. There was no chance they would let anybody in. Our people expressed their emotions in the case of Gaza, Palestine, Egypt, Tunisia and other places. But they were not Shia. Therefore, this is not a Shia-Sunni issue. They are making spiteful and malevolent efforts to present the issue of Bahrain as a Shia-Sunni issue. Unfortunately some people who do not have any evil motives fell into this trap. If there are benevolent people involved in this issue, I would like to tell them, "Do not make this a Shia-Sunni issue." This would be the greatest service to America. This would be the greatest service to the enemies of the Islamic Ummah who are trying to present the anti-tyranny movement of a nation as a Shia-Sunni Conflict. This is not a Shia-Sunni conflict.

We do not distinguish between Gaza, Palestine, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Bahrain and Yemen. Oppression against nations should be condemned everywhere. We approve of national movements that shout Islamic slogans and seek freedom. After the tanks of the Saudi government were deployed in the streets of Manama in Bahrain, the Americans showed how shameless they are when they announced that they do not consider the Saudi involvement in Bahrain as foreign interference. But when our marja taqlids, religious scholars and benevolent people tell them not to kill the people, they accuse us of interference. Is this interference? When we tell an oppressive regime not to kill its own people, they call this interference, but when a foreign government deploys its tanks in the streets of Bahrain, they say they do not consider it foreign interference! Such moves, such statements and such propaganda show how shameless the Americans and their regional subordinates are. Of course we believe that the Saudi government made a mistake. It should not have done this. It will only become hated in the region. The Americans are thousands of kilometers away from this region. Being hated in the region may not be very important to them. But the Saudis are living in this region. If nations of the region hate them, they will have to pay a huge price. They made a mistake, and anybody else who follows them will make the same mistake.

March 21, 2011.

Any popular uprising driven by detemination will definetly achive victory

I am extremely concerned about the situation of Bahrain. The people of Bahrain are being oppressed. Certain promises are made to them but these promises are not kept. The Bahraini nation is an innocent and oppressed nation. Of course any movement that is carried out for the sake of God and is driven by determination, will definitely achieve victory. This is true everywhere and Bahrain is not an exception.

 Aug 31, 2011

The people of Bahrain have been the most oppressed

Of course, among the nations the people of Bahrain have been the most oppressed. This is because there has been a news blackout in the world on the issues of Bahrain. According to no human and global logic is their demand illegitimate. Their demand is legitimate, but they have been oppressed. They have been totally ignored by the media and they have even been the target of constant negative propaganda. Of course, this propaganda is futile and by Allah’s favor, the Bahraini people will achieve victory as well.

Feb 3,2012

Mainstream Media tries to isolate the people of Bahrain and their movement

As an obvious example, notice that today all media companies of the world are trying to isolate the people of Bahrain and their movement. What is the reason? The reason is that the issue is a Shia-Sunni issue: they want to foment discord. They want to draw lines and separate Muslims. There is no difference between pious Muslims who have a tendency towards this or that Islamic denomination. Islam is the aspect that all of these denominations have in common. Unity of Islamic Ummah is the aspect that all of them have in common. The secret behind victory and the continuation of the movement is reliance on God, trust in Him and maintaining unity and cohesion.

Jan 30, 2012

The Uprising in Bahrain will never die

We expressed our view in a clear way. We were never intimidated by the frown of the so-called powers of the world. We did not pay attention to their frown, and we never will. We announce our righteous position in a clear way. The righteous position is that the people of Bahrain have the right to protest. You can discuss this with any insightful person in the world. Explain their situation to him. Explain the way the oppressed Bahraini people are being governed. Explain what the rulers did to take advantage of this small country. Then see if they condemn the ruling system or not. They are making a mistake: confronting the people is useless. You may pressure the people violently and manage to put down the uprising for a short time, but the uprising will not die out. You will further infuriate the people on a daily basis. One day you will lose control of the situation, and it will be impossible for you to set things right. They are making a mistake. Both the Bahraini government and those who send forces to Bahrain are making a serious mistake. They think they can annihilate a popular movement through these things.

 April 23, 2011

The People of Bahrain are seeking democracy

On the issue of Bahrain, what do the people of Bahrain want? The people of Bahrain say that every individual from among the nation should be given a vote in order to elect the government. A vote for each person. Well, are you not speaking about democracy? Are you not saying that you are the emblem of democracy? Are you not saying that you want to defend democracy? Very well, is there any kind of democracy which is clearer than this? Not only do they not give them the right to vote, but they also pressure, insult and humiliate the majority of the people. These people form the majority of the population. These people who are asserting their rights form 70, 80 percent of the population. The oppressive minority has the power in his hands and he is doing whatever he wants to them.

 November 25, 2015