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Bahraini delegation set to visit Iran for bilateral talks
According to the Iranian news agency Tasnim, a Bahraini delegation is set to visit Iran in a bid to bolster bilateral relations between Manama and Tehran.
The news agency released a statement regarding the development, which read, “a Bahraini delegation will visit Iran within the framework of the current diplomatic efforts to strengthen relations between the two countries.”
This comes subsequent to the Spokesperson of the Bahraini Parliament, Ahmed Al-Musallam, meeting up with the official of the Iranian Shura Council delegation, Mojtaba Rezakhawa, to discuss bilateral coordination in relation to international parliamentary forums.
Bahrain severed diplomatic relations with the Islamic Republic in 2016 alongside Saudi Arabia after Iranian protesters ransacked the Saudi embassy in Tehran over the kingdom’s execution of a Shia cleric Nimr Al-Nimr.
Since Iran and Saudi Arabia resumed relations earlier this month, the kingdom’s regional allies, such as the UAE and Bahrain, have begun to approach Tehran for bilateral talks.
Last week, the Deputy Speaker of the Bahraini Parliament, Abdulnabi Salman, disclosed that flights between Manama and Tehran are set to resume “soon.”
According to the UK-based regional news outlet Amwaj Media, Iran, and Bahrain have held a number of “low-profile exchanges” in recent months in a bid to restore relations.
In 2011, Iran strongly condemned Saudi Arabia’s military intervention in Bahrain, which aided the Al-Khalifa monarchy’s crackdown on the predominantly Shia anti-government protests. As a result, the two countries expelled each other’s ambassadors. The following year, the Bahraini foreign ministry announced the reinstatement of an Iranian envoy to the Gulf country.
In 2015, Iranian condemnation and expression of political support for Bahrain’s persecuted Shia majority prompted the Gulf state to accuse Tehran of intervening in the country’s affairs.
The Al-Khalifa monarchy is a Sunni ruling minority that governs Bahrain’s Shia majority with an iron fist. It is also known to crack down strongly on dissidents and imprison them without evidence. Bahrain is known for having the most political prisoners in the region.
