MANAMA: Bahrain yesterday slammed renewed Iranian claims questioning its sovereignty and independence. "The statements made recently by Iranian officials are in contradiction with the bilateral relations of good neighbourhood," Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa said yesterday.

He was speaking as he received Iranian Ambassador Hussein Amir Abdullahyan.

He dismissed the controversial statements as a flagrant violation of the UN Charter, an international law which advocated mutual respect between all sovereign states.

They were an affront to international covenants which oppose any interference in the internal affairs of other countries, Shaikh Khalid said. Bahrain was committed to promoting bilateral relations in all fields and it wouldn't be intimidated by such claims, he said.

The Foreign Minister was responding to claims made by Hujjat Al Islam Ali Akbar Natiq Nuri, head of public inspection at the office of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution.

He revived the issue during a speech at Imam Al Reza in Mashhad marking the annual anniversary of the Islamic Revolution. He claimed that Bahrain was an integral part of Iran, purporting that it was the 14th Iranian province.

Summoned by the Foreign Ministry, Ambassador Abdullahyan said Natiq Nuri's statements did not put Bahrain's sovereignty and stability into question.

He said Bahrain's bilateral relations with Iran was based on mutual respect.

"The Islamic Republic won't allow anyone to encroach on the sovereign Kingdom of Bahrain," he said.

On December 27 last year, IIam province MP Daryoush Ghanbari also claimed Bahrain was an integral part of Iran, questioning what he called the dubious role of the UN in establishing Bahrain's sovereignty.

The Foreign Ministry also sought clarifications from the Iranian Embassy on February 4.

"These statements do not serve bilateral relations, the interests of peoples, regional security and stability," Shaikh Khalid said.