Iran and Bahrain agree to resume diplomatic relations

Following in Saudi Arabia's footsteps, Bahrain has decided to end the diplomatic dispute with the Islamic Republic of Iran after 8 years of tensions. Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid al-Zayani has agreed with his Iranian counterpart Ali Bagheri Kani to establish "the necessary mechanisms to initiate talks between the two countries to explore ways to resume political relations", the Iranian Foreign Ministry announced in a statement.   

Al-Zayani and Kani discussed bilateral relations on the sidelines of the Asian Cooperation Forum in Tehran, noting also the "historic fraternal ties" as well as "religious relations, neighbourliness, common history and mutual interests". 

Bahrain suspended diplomatic relations with Iran in 2016, after Saudi Arabia severed ties with Tehran following the storming of its embassy in the Persian nation during a protest over the execution of a prominent Saudi Shia cleric.

However, tensions between Bahrain and Iran go back years. Before breaking off relations, Bahrain had already accused the Iranian regime of fomenting unrest in the kingdom. In this regard, Manama blamed Tehran for fuelling an anti-government protest movement in 2011 - at the height of the Arab Spring - led by the country's Shia community. 

However, despite past rifts, recent years have seen a rapprochement between Iran and Saudi Arabia that culminated in March 2023 with the restoration of relations thanks to Chinese mediation. This reconciliation has also led to Manama following the same path as Riyadh.   

Since then, ties between Bahrain and Iran have improved markedly. Recently, the Kingdom sent a request, via Russia, to re-establish relations with Iran. During his visit to Moscow at the end of May, Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa revealed that his country was seeking to boost diplomatic, commercial and cultural relations between the two nations.   

"We had problems with Iran, but now there is no problem," he said during a meeting in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Iran's ally. "There is no reason to postpone the normalisation of relations with Iran," he added.  

Shortly after these statements, Ahmed Al Musallam, president of Bahrain's Council of Representatives, received his Iranian counterpart, Mojtaba Rezakha, in Manama for a meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Union. Meanwhile, an Iranian delegation led by Ali Alizadeh, a member of the parliament's national security and foreign policy committee, visited Bahrain as part of the Asian Parliamentary Assembly meetings. 

Bahrain, despite agreeing to resume relations with Iran, remains one of the United States' main allies in the Middle East. It is also one of the nations in the region that signed the Washington-driven Abraham Accords in 2020, which involve establishing relations with Israel.