The Bahraini government has staunchly defended the crackdown on pro-democracy protests. On Thursday, Bahrain’s Special Envoy to the United States, Latif Al-Zayani, was interviewed by CNN’s Candy Crowley.

Candy Crowley: “There does not seem to have been any harm done on the other side of this conflict. And yet we’re told that three protesters were killed. Is it possible that this was an overreaction? Could it have been dealt with in some other way?”

Latif Al-Zayani: “No, actually. In our procedure, we always use force that is proportional. The force was proportional. The minimum possible tear gas was used to be effective enough to disperse the people.”