News - Middle East: The Islamic Republic of Iran and the Kingdom of Bahrain have agreed to start negotiations on the resumption of political relations between the two countries after a hiatus of more than eight years.

The announcement was made in an early Monday joint statement by the two countries.

According to the statement, the agreement was reached following a meeting between Iran's acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani and his Bahraini counterpart, Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani.

The Bahraini foreign minister is currently in the Iranian capital to take part in the ministerial meeting of the Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD).

The statement noted that the two countries’ top diplomats held a bilateral meeting “within the framework of fraternal and historical relations between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Islamic Republic of Iran, and [in view of] religious [and] neighborly ties [as well as] the common history and mutual interests between them.”

“During the meeting, the two sides agreed to create necessary mechanisms to start negotiations between the two countries on how to restart political relations” between Tehran and Manama, the statement concluded.

The announcement came after in early June, Mohammad Jamshidi, the deputy chief of staff for political affairs to the Iranian president said Bahrain had sent a message to Iran through Russia to normalize relations.

A week earlier, Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa had said during a state visit to China that his country was working to restore diplomatic relations with Iran.

“We believe in the principle of good neighborliness and non-interference in internal affairs," he stressed, adding, “We are working to restore diplomatic relations with Iran as a neighbor.”

Bahrain followed suit with Saudi Arabia to sever diplomatic relations with Iran on January 4, 2016, after Iranian protesters, enraged by the execution of prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr by the Saudi government, stormed its diplomatic mission in Iran.

Tehran and Riyadh reached an agreement in the Chinese capital city of Beijing in March 2023 to restore diplomatic relations and re-open embassies and missions.

During a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on May 23, King Hamad said Bahrain looked forward to improving its relations with Iran.

He added that there was no reason to postpone the restoration of diplomatic relations between Bahrain and Iran.

Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif al-Zayani recently visited Tehran to offer condolences on the passing of Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi, who lost his life alongside seven others in a helicopter crash in northwest Iran on May 19.

Source: Press TV