Manama, Bahrain - Iran's speaker of parliament Ali Larijani, in an interview published in Bahrain on Wednesday, criticized US policies on the Middle East conflict and the situation in Iraq.

"The West needs to reconsider what they say. The top US diplomat Condoleezza Rice, during the Israeli aggression against Lebanon which lasted 33 days, described the war as 'the birth pangs of a new Middle East'," Larijani was quoted as saying by Al Wasat.

"As a woman who did not try the experience of pregnancy she seems to not have known that a birth needs longer time than that."

Manama, Bahrain - The speaker of the Iranian parliament, Ali Larijani, arrived in Bahrain Tuesday to start a three-day tour of Gulf nations.

Larijani's arrival coincided with the start of a two-day meeting in Manama between the United States and Persian Gulf nations focused on maritime security. That is a continuous issue because of previous threats by Tehran to shut down the vital Strait of Hormuz if Iran should ever come under attack from the United States or Israel.

Baghdad - Bahrain Foreign Minister Sheikh K

Cairo  - Bahrain's Foreign Minister called for the establishment of a regional organization that includes Arab states as well as Turkey, Israel and Iran, media reports said on Wednesday.

Sheik Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa was quoted by the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat as saying "such an organization should be formed even if we don't recognize each other."

The aim of the grouping would be to resolve disputes its members have with one another, according to the minister.

"Let them all sit together in one group ... Why not become one organization to overcome this difficult phase?," he said.

Manama - Bahrain's fishermen vowed to continue their weekly protests against real estate developers, who are said to be damaging the country's marine environment by large-scale land reclamation pro

Singapore  - A parliamentary delegation from Bahrain is in Singapore through Thursday, government officials said Tuesday.