The Foreign Ministry dismissed accusations raised by Bahrain that it had arrested 14 Iranians with forged passports, saying the tiny kingdom has shown no verifiable evidence to back its claim. The ministry spokesman, Bahram Qassemi, dismissed as unverifiable a report that Bahrain’s security forces had arrested 14 Iranians who had entered the Persian Gulf statec with forged passports, Tasnim News Agency reported. “Iranian authorities have not been given any document or evidence in that regard so far, and due to lack of more information, this (Bahraini) claim cannot be verified or accepted,” the spokesman told reporters. Bahrain’s Interior Ministry made the announcement Saturday night. It did not identify those arrested, nor did it offer a motive for their entry into Bahrain. The mere claim that those captured with fake passports are of Iranian origin is not manifest, Qassemi said. Pointing to the severance of diplomatic ties between Iran and the staunchly pro-US kingdom, Qassemi said the Manama government refuses Iranians visas and there are no contacts between the two countries. Bahrain severed diplomatic ties with Iran in May 2016. It has accused Iran of arming and training Shia militants and stirring dissent on the island, something Tehran denies.
