After Saudis, Iran Targets Israeli Ally Bahrain for Rapprochement

After Saudis, Iran Targets Israeli Ally Bahrain for Rapprochement

Iran seeks to restore ties with one of Israel’s Abraham Accord allies after Tehran struck a deal with Saudi Arabia.

By United with Israel Staff

On Monday, Iran announced it seeks to restore ties with Bahrain, one of the nations with which Israel has established diplomatic relations during the Abraham Accords.

Tehran made the announcement following a recent China-brokered detente with Saudi Arabia, which Israel has sought to bring into its broadening coalition of regional partners.

“Bahrain followed in Riyadh’s footsteps when it cut ties with Tehran in 2016 after Iranian protesters attacked Saudi diplomatic missions in response to the Saudi execution of Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr,” reported i24 on Monday.

“The resumption of political relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia shows the effectiveness and success of the diplomatic solution to resolve misunderstandings,” said Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani in comments quouted by i24.

“Relations between Iran and Bahrain are no exception to this rule,” Kanani added.

With Iran and the verge of a nuclear weapon, the Riyadh-Tehran rapprochement was not welcome news in Israel.

The Islamic Republic routinely threatens to destroy Israel and supports terror groups that murder Israeli citizens, including Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza. It also bankrolls and trains a network of terror armies across the region, including Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen. These forces destabilize the region and engage in proxy wars with Israel and Saudi Arabia.

In response to the new Iran-Saudi deal, the Palestinian terror group Hamas released a statement declaring, “This is a significant step to unite the Arab and Muslim world, boost security and understanding between the Arab and Muslim nations and achieve stability in the region.”

According to the Associated Press, “[E]xperts doubted a detente would harm Israel. Saudi Arabia and Iran will remain regional rivals, even if they open embassies in each other’s capitals,” citing the opinion of Yoel Guzansky of the Israel-based Institute for National Security Studies

“The low-key arrangement that the Saudis have with Israel will continue,” added Umar Karim, a University of Birmingham-based expert on Saudi Arabian politics “The Saudi leadership is engaging in more than one way to secure its national security.”