LONDON: The United States on Tuesday designated the Bahrain-based Saraya Al-Mukhtar group as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, accusing it of being an Iran-backed terrorist organization and of having plotted attacks against US personnel in Bahrain.
“Saraya Al-Mukhtar is an Iran-backed terrorist organization based in Bahrain, reportedly receiving financial and logistic support from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps,” US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement.
Today’s designation of Saraya al-Mukhtar sends a strong message to the Iranian regime that we will not allow its terrorist proxies to threaten the people of Bahrain and the U.S. personnel stationed there.
— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) December 15, 2020
Bahrain welcomed Washington’s decision to designate the group as a terrorist organization as it threatens the security of the kingdom and the world.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs called it an “important positive step to confront the malicious actions and intentions of this terrorist organization supported by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and combat its destabilizing activities in the region and drying up its sources of financing.”
The ministry also said it commends the US’s “relentless efforts” in combating and confronting all extremist and terrorist groups.
