Twitter posts concerning the Muslim Brotherhood won’t harm the United Arab Emirates’ relations with Egypt, Dubai’s police chief said, saying the Brotherhood is a limited group that represents only 10 percent of Egyptians.
Dahi Khalfan has made fiery statements against the Brotherhood, warning of what he described as the group’s grand plot to overthrow the Gulf’s monarchical regimes.
In an interview with Al Arabiya satellite channel Sunday, the police chief said he had no agenda for his actions and that his tweets are those of a Gulf citizen who does not accept his rulers or security being harmed.
Khalfan expressed concerns over the possibility of Syria falling into the hands of the Brotherhood, adding that this would lead to pressure on Gulf security.
He also said Brotherhood leaders are staying in Turkey’s hotels, waiting to pounce on power in Syria.
“The Brotherhood needs to know that interfering in countries’ affairs is not good, that Gulf security is a red line and that anything that happens in any Gulf country will cause them all to unite and stand by each other,” he said.
Khalfan said several conspiracies and violations have been uncovered.
“We know what we’re doing. The recent arrests in the UAE involved people charged in cases that concern the country’s security,” he said.
Khalfan said there are Iranian cells in the Gulf and that the region would not be silent about Iranian threats, as he told one Iranian leader.
“If Iran wishes to exploit the dormant cells in the Gulf to mess with our security, we will plant cells in Iran because we will not allow anyone to harm us while we watch,” he said.
In April, the UAE arrested a group of 20 Islamist dissidents amid an ongoing clampdown on opposition political activities, which the country's authorities see as a trend emboldened by Islamists’ ascent to power in the recent Arab revolts.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
