Bahrain severed diplomatic ties with Iran in 2016 but ties improved following a rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran last year.
Bahrain’s Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that Bahrain and Iran had agreed to begin talks aimed at repairing political ties between the two countries after their foreign ministers met in Tehran.
The meeting between Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani and his Iranian Acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani took place on Sunday during Al Zayani’s visit to Iran to participate in the Asia Cooperation Dialogue Summit.
“During the meeting, the two sides agreed to establish the necessary mechanisms to launch bilateral consultations to explore ways to resume political relations between the two countries,” the statement said.
Bahrain and Iran have been in conflict for more than a decade. Bahrain severed diplomatic ties with Tehran in 2016 following tensions between Bahrain’s ally Saudi Arabia and Iran. Bahrain also accused Iran of involvement in anti-government protests led by the country’s Shiites in 2011, which were crushed after Saudi troops arrived in Bahrain.
Saudi Arabia also severed diplomatic ties with Iran in 2016 but restored them last year as part of a China-brokered deal, and relations between Iran and Bahrain have also improved since then.
According to Iranian media, Bahrain requested, via Russia, in early June to restore diplomatic ties with Iran.
Also in May, Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa said his country looked forward to improving ties with Iran.
