Demonstrations took center stage in Tehran and other cities in Iran on Friday as thousands of Iranians voiced their opposition to the union between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain in the recent Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) plan.
Iranians were raising the Bahraini flag while simultaneously shouting "death" to America, Israel, and the "traitors" Al-Saud and Al-Khalifa
The protests were charged with strong dissent between a Shiite-majority Iran and the Sunni rulers of also Shiite-majority Bahrain.
Growing tensions between Tehran and U.S.-allied Gulf Arab states have become more realized in recent months as Arab leaders have accused Iran's leaders of riling Shiite dissension in Bahrain, which is an accusation that Shiite Iran and the zealous protesters deny.
The volatile demonstrations come in the wake of the 14th GCC Summit, which ended in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Monday.
At the summit, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE held discussions to bring the six states closer together for political and military unity - an effort which has been viewed as a move to counter Iran's growing influence. Iran denounced the efforts.
Nabeel Al Hamer, the media advisor to the Bahraini King, tweeted on Tuesday that four of the oil-rich Gulf states agreed to form the union, as quoted by the Bahrain News Agency.
Al Hamer also suggested that the process to forge the countries together was expected to be concluded in coming months.
However, an influential cleric in Iran has denounced the union as an "ill-fated plot" that will never be accepted by Muslims.
Iranian authorities urged citizens in all of Iran to protest the union as an "American plan to annex Bahrain to Saudi Arabia and express their anger against the lackey regimes of Al-Khalifa and Al-Saud," which are the leaders of the two Gulf countries.
Following the GCC meeting, Bahrain's parliament affirmed the plan and stood together believing the union would establish security, stability, and economic prosperity for citizens of the six Gulf countries as well as protect the GCC members against "hostile" foes such as Iran.
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