The Bahrain Aid Flotilla is an effort to show solidarity with the people of Bahrain

Bahrain

' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...

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The flotilla was announced on May 10, 2011. Organizers stated their intention of commemorating the martyred poet Ayat al-ghermezi

Ayat al-Ghermezi

Ayat Hassan Mohammed Al-Qurmezi is a poet and student at the Faculty of Teachers in Bahrain.The Bahrain Aid Flotilla is being launched in her honor...

. Mehdi Eghrarian, leader of the Iranian Association of Islamic Revolution Followers, announced that the flotilla would depart the Persian Gulf

Persian Gulf

The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...

 seaport of Bushehr

Bushehr

Bushehr Bushehr lies in a vast plain running along the coastal region on the Persian Gulf coast of southwestern Iran. It is the chief seaport of the country and the administrative centre of its province. Its location is about south of Tehran. The local climate is hot and humid.The city...

on May 16. Other Iranian news reports stated that the convoy would sail on may 14 and that organizers welcomed "university and seminary students, and Muslims from other countries," to join them.