DUBAI: The Bahrain Chamber of Commerce has called for a complete boycott of trade with Iran to protest against Tehran’s alleged fuelling of unrest in the tiny Gulf kingdom, press reports said over the weekend.
The Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry Saturday agreed to the boycott of bilateral trade estimated at an annual $5 billion, reports said.
“We denounce Iran’s blatant interference in the internal affairs of Bahrain, including its speeches and statements against the kingdom,” the BCCI said Sunday.
“In light of this situation, the chamber calls all traders, businessmen, companies and other institutions to boycott Iranian goods and stop dealing with their merchants.”
It also urged other Gulf Cooperation Council states – Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE – to follow Bahrain’s boycott of trade with Iran.
BCCI treasurer Othman Sharif said their decision was taken in solidarity with Bahrain’s leadership.
“We want to show support to our leaders and decided to boycott all Iranian goods,” he told the Gulf Daily News. Bahrain mainly imports food, including dried fruit, from Iran.
Iran, predominantly a Shiite nation, has admitted giving “moral support” to the demands of Bahrain’s people, but without any involvement in the protests in its Arab Gulf neighbor.
Bahraini authorities have come under criticism from international rights organizations over a heavy-handed crackdown on protesters from the Shiite-majority community.