Tehran Prepares Iranian Public Opinion for Normalization of Ties With Bahrain

After years of Iranian propaganda against the House of Khalifa, Bahrain’s ruling family, Tehran appears ready to normalize diplomatic relations with Manama, just as it normalized ties with Riyadh. However, efforts by the regime and Iranian foreign policy analysts to prepare Iranian public opinion for normalization may alarm officials in Manama, who are fearful of Iranian meddling in Bahrain’s internal affairs.

• April 2: In an interview with Fars News, Reza Sadr al-Hosseini, a regional affairs expert, said: “Certain governments, like Bahrain’s, that in many of their affairs, particularly foreign policy, depend on Saudi Arabia, themselves severed relations with the Islamic Republic. It was therefore predictable that Bahrain would resume relations with Iran after the resumption of Iran-Saudi Arabia relations … The people of Bahrain, a majority of whom are Shia or even of Iranian descent, help improve relations … Although the island of Bahrain was severed from Iran 50 years ago, the people of Bahrain have not lost their love for us … The people who migrated from Malaysia, Indonesia, India, and Pakistan to Bahrain and have Bahraini IDs do not constitute the real population of this country, but the Khalifa regime tries to depict them as the Bahraini people … The real and original Bahrainis live abroad … And those remaining in Bahrain visit Iran for pilgrimage. It is therefore not so difficult to normalize relations between Iran and Bahrain within a short period of time.”
• April 16: Ghatreh News, quoting Jalil Rahimi Jahanabadi, a member of Iran’s Parliamentary Foreign Policy and National Security Committee, wrote: “Fortunately, Iran’s relations with Egypt, Jordan, Bahrain, and the Emirates are improving.”
• April 18: Under the headline “Bahrain Follows Saudi’s Lead in Resolving Political Conflicts With Iran,” Middle East analyst Ghafour Karimi commented on Tehran-Manama relations for Diplomasi-ye Irani and argued: “As two rival regional actors, Iran and Saudi Arabia compete for their spheres of influence in the Middle East. In this context, Bahrain is one of the more important fields of hegemonic battles between the two … Since Iran and Saudi Arabia are normalizing diplomatic relations … the Bahraini government will take the Saudis’ lead to reduce regional tensions.”
• April 18: In a conversation with Didban-e Iran, Qassem Mohebali, a Middle East analyst, depicted Bahrain as an important unresolved issue between Iran and Saudi Arabia: “Next after Yemen, Bahrain is an important issue for Iran and Saudi Arabia. They claim they are concerned about Iranian meddling. As Bahrain is attached to Saudi Arabia, the internal dynamics in this country will also impact internal affairs in Saudi Arabia. A majority of this country’s population is Shia, which is important for Iran.”

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