Iran denies involvement in Bahrain pipeline explosion

Iran has denied allegations it was behind a militant attack on a pipeline outside Bahrain's capital, rejecting the claims as "baseless" and "childish finger-pointing".

On Saturday, Bahrain's foreign minister accused Iran of being behind a pipeline fire that temporarily halted oil supplies from Saudi Arabia.

"The attempt to blow up the Saudi-Bahraini pipeline is a dangerous escalation on Iran's part that aims to terrorise citizens and to harm the world oil industry," Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed al-Khalifa wrote on Twitter.

But a spokesman for the Iranian foreign ministry on Sunday rejected the accusations.

"Obviously, the only thing Bahraini officials have learned to do after each incident in the emirate is to accuse Iran," Bahram Ghassemi said.

"The era of childish accusations and lies is over," he said, adding Iran wanted "the stability and security of its neighbours".

Bahrain relies on the Abu Safa field, which it shares with neighbouring Saudi Arabia, for much of its oil, pumped in via a 230,000-barrel-per-day pipeline.

National oil company Bapco on Sunday said it had fixed the pipeline, which would allow oil to flow back into the country.

Bahrain has been combating a low-level insurgency since the Sunni monarchy quashed a 2011 Arab Spring uprising led by its majority Shia population.

Authorities have since tightened their grip on dissent, jailing hundreds of protesters and stripping a string of high-profile activists and clerics of citizenship. 

Agencies contributed to this report.