Iran entered new phase of relations with Bahrain: Bagheri Kani
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A joint Iranian-Bahraini statement says both sides agreed to establish the necessary mechanisms to initiate discussions on how to resume political relations.
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Iranian Interim Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani attends a news conference with Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bouhabib after their meeting in Beirut, Lebanon, on Monday, June 3, 2024. (AP)
Iran has entered a new phase of relations with Bahrain, and the two countries have agreed to explore ways to revive their bilateral relations, the Acting Iranian Foreign Minister, Ali Bagheri Kani, said.
Bahrain cut ties with Iran in 2016, following in the footsteps of Saudi Arabia after Riyadh's diplomatic missions in Iran were attacked by angry protesters denouncing the Saudi execution of Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr in January 2016. The Riyadh authorities executed al-Nimr along with 46 other people on the same day, under the pretext of "fighting terror".
A joint statement issued following talks held Sunday in Tehran between Bagheri Kani and his Bahraini counterpart, Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, emphasized that both sides agreed to establish the necessary mechanisms to initiate discussions on how to resume political relations, Iran's state-run news agency IRNA reported.
The statement highlighted that the talks took place "within the framework of the historical fraternal relations between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Islamic Republic of Iran."
It added that the two sides met "in line with religious commonalities, neighborliness, common history, and mutual interests."
The meeting occurred on the sidelines of Al Zayani's visit to the Iranian capital at the invitation of Bagheri Kani to participate in the Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) summit.
The top Bahraini diplomat visited Tehran in May to convey King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa's condolences on the martyrdom of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.
In early June, Al Khalifa said that his country is working to strengthen diplomatic relations with Iran, after strained ties for over eight years.
During a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, the Bahraini King indicated that his country aims for peace, forgiveness, human coexistence, dialogue, and diplomacy.
He expressed during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow in May his country's desire to improve relations with Iran, noting that there is no reason to delay the resumption of relations between the two countries after they were severed in 2016.
