MANAMA: Bahrain's king said a foreign plot against his island state had been foiled, and the head of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) said interference by Iran in the Gulf Arab states would not be tolerated. “An external plot has been fomented for 20 to 30 years until the ground was ripe for subversive designs... I here announce the failure of the plot,” King Hamad Bin Issa Al- Khalifa was quoted as telling troops in a report by state news agency BNA. Had the plot succeeded, he said, it could have spilled into neighboring states. The king thanked troops brought in from GCC states to help quell weeks of unrest following protests calling for political reform. He did not say who was behind the plot. The Bahraini king also praised the GCC forces and said “Bahrain is bigger and stronger today than ever.” GCC Secretary General Abdulrahman Al-Attiyah told reporters: “We reject any intervention in our internal affairs and among these countries (intervening) is Iran.” Al Arabiya television channel quoted Bahrain authorities as saying intelligence communications systems had been sent from Iran to the Bahraini opposition. Bahrain expelled Iran's charge d'affaires Sunday, accusing him of contacts with opposition groups, a diplomatic source said. The Iranian ambassador was asked to leave last week. Iran expelled a Bahraini diplomat in response.
