Iranian Foreign Ministry has dismissed a claim by the Bahraini officials about spotting an Iranian unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in the country’s airspace.

The ministry issued a statement rejecting the allegation on Thursday while urging Manama to meet the growing demands of its people instead of leveling baseless accusations against the Islamic Republic.

The statement came in response to the recent claims by some Bahraini officials accusing Iran of sending a spy drone over the Persian Gulf kingdom.

Iran has been critical of its Arab neighbor over the heavy-handed handling of popular protests which have been held on a regular basis against the country’s Western-backed rulers.

The Bahraini uprising began in mid-February 2011, when the people, inspired by the popular revolutions that toppled the dictators of Tunisia and Egypt, started to hold massive demonstrations.

Manama launched a brutal crackdown on the peaceful protests and called in Saudi-led Arab forces from neighboring states.

Dozens of people have been killed in the crackdown, and the security forces have arrested hundreds, including doctors and nurses accused of treating injured revolutionaries.