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Bahrain: Hearing Session on Intelligence Links with Qatar Deferred

Advocate General Osama al-Oufi. BNA
Advocate General Osama al-Oufi. BNA
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Bahrain: Hearing Session on Intelligence Links with Qatar Deferred

Advocate General Osama al-Oufi. BNA
Advocate General Osama al-Oufi. BNA

Bahrain’s judiciary postponed the first trial session of Ali Salman, the jailed Secretary-General of the banned Al Wefaq movement, Ali Mahdi al-Aswad, and Ali Gomaa Sultan, who was added to the terror lists announced by Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

The three defendants were accused of communicating with Qatar to carry out terrorist acts that harm Bahrain's interests, security and stability.

Salman refused to attend the hearing on Monday, thus it has been deferred to Wednesday while Sultan and Aswad have been tried in absentia after they fled the country.

Advocate General Osama al-Oufi stated that the High Criminal Court held on November 27 its first session in the trial of the three defendants on charges of intelligence links with the State of Qatar.

The three suspects were referred by the Public Prosecutor to the court for intelligence contacts with a foreign state to carry out subversive acts against the Kingdom of Bahrain in order to undermine its political and economic status and its national interests and topple the regime, Oufi explained.

They were also charged with revealing defense secrets to a foreign country, accepting money from a foreign state for divulging military secrets and information pertaining to the internal situation in the Kingdom, disseminating false information and inciting allegations abroad in order to weaken financial trust in the Kingdom and undermine its prestige.

On August 16, Bahrain revealed a phone call between Sheikh Haman bin Jassem Al Thani and Ali Salman during the incidents in Bahrain that took place in the period from February 14 until March 16, 2011.

It also disclosed earlier on August 7 that Qatar used to finance terrorist acts in Bahrain by transferring money from the Qatari side to member of Al Wefaq Hassan Issa, a fund that the Bahraini security services confirm was used in the terrorist bombing that killed two security men and wounded eight others in July 2015.

Salman has been behind bars since 2014 serving a nine-year sentence for inciting hatred.

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Yemen Protests against Iranian Meddling before Security Council

Weapons seized by the government forces in the Red Sea while bound for the Houthis, are displayed in the southern port city of Mokha, Yemen, 24 July 2025. (EPA)
Weapons seized by the government forces in the Red Sea while bound for the Houthis, are displayed in the southern port city of Mokha, Yemen, 24 July 2025. (EPA)
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Yemen Protests against Iranian Meddling before Security Council

Weapons seized by the government forces in the Red Sea while bound for the Houthis, are displayed in the southern port city of Mokha, Yemen, 24 July 2025. (EPA)
Weapons seized by the government forces in the Red Sea while bound for the Houthis, are displayed in the southern port city of Mokha, Yemen, 24 July 2025. (EPA)

Yemen protested on Thursday against Iran’s ongoing flagrant meddling in its internal affairs, as well as its destabilization of its security and stability.

Yemeni Foreign Minister Shayea al-Zandani sent a letter to Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, current President of the United Nations Security Council and Pakistan’s permanent Ambassador to the organization, about Yemen’s recent seizure of an Iranian weapons shipment to the Houthi militants this month.

Zandani said the shipment was seized at sea and inspections by military experts found that the arms were made by Iran.

The incident was the latest in a series of seizures by Yemeni authorities, he added. It demonstrates the Iranian regime’s continued interference in Yemeni affairs and blatant violations of the UN Charter, international law and Security Council resolutions.

The shipment weighed around 750 tons and held weapons, ammunition and military gear, including Iranian-made Type 358 anti-aircraft missiles, drone components and warheads.

In his letter, Zandani said Iranian meddling has allowed the Houthi militias to continue their war against the Yemeni people and carry out attacks against cities and villages, claiming civilian lives.

The Houthis have carried out terrorist operations against civilian infrastructure and oil and energy facilities throughout the country, he added.

He also noted their attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea.

The continued smuggling of Iranian weapons to the Houthis and Tehran’s offering of military, financial and technical support demonstrates the extent of the direct Iranian interference in Yemen, he remarked.

Iran’s backing of the Houthis is part of its expansionist and destabilizing agenda in the region, he warned.

Moreover, Zandani said the weapons shipment shows that Iran is keen on prolonging the conflict in Yemen, hampering efforts to reach a comprehensive political settlement and end the suffering of the people, and keeping Yemen as a platform to threaten international shipping.