‘Unrest in region, ploy to control PG’

Secretary of Iran's Expediency Council Mohsen Rezaei says the recent developments in Bahrain, Yemen and Syria indicate a new scheme to seize control of the Persian Gulf. “The recent developments in Bahrain, Yemen and Syria indicate new schemes aimed at dominating the Persian Gulf and taking control of the region’s oil and gas,” Rezaei said Saturday. According to recent reports, Saudi Arabia is seeking to merge with Bahrain in line with plans to unify the six Arab member states of the [Persian] Gulf Cooperation Council ([P]GCC). The Saudi plan would give Manama internal political autonomy while Riyadh would stay in charge of the country’s military affairs. Syria has also been experiencing unrest since mid-March 2011 and more than 6,000 police forces, army troops, security forces and pro-government people have been killed in the unrest. Referring to the upcoming talks between Iran and the P5+1 (Britain, China, France, Russia, and the United States plus Germany) on May 23 in Iraq’s capital, Rezaei said, “The Baghdad talks could be a new way for constructive interaction between Iran and the world with the aim of establishing sustainable peace, security and development in the region.” The latest round of the talks between Iran and the P5+1 was held in the Turkish city of Istanbul on April 14. Both sides hailed the discussions as constructive.