TEHRAN – Iran has rejected Bahrain’s allegation linking Tehran to an oil pipeline fire near the Bahraini capital of Manama.

On Friday night, an explosion at an oil pipeline, belonging to the state-run Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco), caused a fire in the vicinity of the village of Buri. The pipeline was running between Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

No one was injured in the blast and no group claimed responsibility, but Bahrain's Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifah claimed in a post on Twitter that the incident was “a dangerous Iranian escalation.”

Bahraini Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid bin Abdullah al-Khalifa also described the incident as “an act of sabotage and a dangerous act of terrorism aimed at harming the higher interests of the nation and the safety of the people.”

“Terrorist acts witnessed by the country in the recent period are carried out through direct contacts and instructions from Iran,” he claimed.

On Sunday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi vehemently dismissed the accusations as "delusional."

“Apparently, the only thing that Bahraini officials have been taught to utter following any incidents in the island is accusing Iran,” Qassemi was quoted as saying by Press TV.

Addressing Bahraini authorities, the spokesman said “the era of such delusional remarks and lies as well as hype and childish accusations is over.”

“We have always insisted and stressed that we consider stability and security in all our neighbors as our own stability and security and remain committed to it,” he added.

Bahraini authorities said they had brought the fire under control. The civil defense said on Saturday that Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco) closed the flow of oil to the stricken pipeline.

Although the majority of its population are Shia Muslims, Bahrain is ruled by House of Khalifa who profess Sunni Islam. A key Western ally and home to the U.S. Fifth Fleet, the country has been the scene of anti-regime protests since 2011. 

Ever since, the regime has suppressed peaceful demonstrations, killing scores of pro-democracy protesters.

Bahraini authorities have also launched a severe crackdown against human rights campaigners, broken up major opposition political parties and stripped several activists of their nationality.

The Al Khalifa reigme blames Tehran for the country’s unrest, and from time to time, arrests activists and accuses them of having links to Iran.

Iran has denied any role in Bahrain’s unrest, urging Bahraini officials to address the root causes of the problems it has been faced with.

MH/