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Hundreds of Shia clashed with riot police in Bahrain on Dec. 18 in the latest unrest in a series of such incidents this year. Meanwhile, Saudi authorities announced Dec. 18 that they are studying the grievances of the kingdom's Shiite minority. These events are a stark reminder to the Persian Gulf countries that despite recent moves to engage Iran positively, Tehran's ability to influence their Shiite populations remains a serious threat to the countries' stability.

Hundreds of Shia clashed with riot police on the outskirts of Manama, Bahrain, on Dec. 18. The clashes followed the funeral of a protester killed a day earlier after a Shiite rally to commemorate the sectarian groups’ violent political upheaval in Bahrain during the 1990s.

Since the beginning of this year, dozens of riots have taken place in Shiite villages across the country, most of them unreported by the tightly controlled local media. The latest tensions reportedly have been over land, which the government has been reclaiming at the expense of the Shiite fishermen.

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