the U.S. doesn’t believe any of insisted “Iranian threats”

Leaked cables revealed that various alleged ‘Iranian threats’ and several conspiracies related with Hezbollah asserted by Bahraini government have no proofs. The U.S. embassy continuously confirms that the government has never given any sound evidence on the threats to it. Following is an excerpt from the cable 08Manama528:

“To date, we have seen no convincing evidence of Iranian weapons or government money here since at least the mid-1990s, when followers of Ayatollah Shirazi were rounded up and convicted of sedition. … If the GOB had convincing evidence of more recent Iranian subversion, it would quickly share it with us.”

And from the cable 08Manama541:

“King Hamad related the report that Bahrainis were receiving training from Hizballah in Lebanon, but admitted he had no definitive proof. He also speculated that the Syrian government was complicit, and must be helping these Bahrainis travel without passport verification as tourists. (Comment: Post has heard versions of this theory from Bahraini officials in the past, but despite our requests the GOB has been unable to provide convincing evidence. End comment.)”

“Iranian threats” of use in militarization of the Gulf

The ‘threats’ are one of the major grounds for the excessive defense systems and military trainings primarily purchased from the U.S. Although it has no belief in any concrete ‘Iranian threats’, the U.S. seems to be satisfied with Bahrain as a leading figure of multilateral security cooperation between the GCC members, dealing with “possible Iranian threats”. Following is an excerpt from the cable 08Manama252 and 08Manama496 respectively:

“Their number-one security concern is Iran. ∙∙∙ Bahrain sees a concerted campaign by the regime in Tehran to spread its extremist ideology throughout the region. ∙∙∙ Bahrain is a leading advocate for greater multilateral security cooperation. DoD has launched a number of initiatives to develop multilateral air and maritime defense capabilities. On March 4, Bahrain’s navy took command of Combined Task Force (CTF) 152, the coalition maritime force that patrols the central and southern Arabian Gulf. ∙∙∙ It is the first time a Gulf state has commanded a coalition military operation.”

“As General Mansoori’s command of CTF 152 demonstrates, we can use our close security ties with Bahrain to continue pushing the envelope for GCC-U.S. security cooperation.”

And while the majority of Bahrainis live in poverty, government expenditure to national defense become the first priority, even at risk of it causing budget deficit (08Manama496):

“King Hamad told Secretary Gates on March 26 that Bahrain has assessed the need for several complete Patriot batteries to cover the island. He said that that he hoped the U.S. would provide one, while Bahrain would buy or lease others (though in our view this would be a stretch for Bahrain’s budget.)”