Iran on Saturday strongly condemned Bahrain’s plan to normalise relations with Israel, calling it a shameful and ignominious move by the Gulf Arab country.
Bahrain’s announcement Friday followed a similar normalisation agreement last month by the United Arab Emirates, a fellow U.S. Ally. The two Arab nations’ establishment of full relations with Israel is part of a broader push by the Trump administration find common ground with countries that share U.S. Wariness of Iran. Tehran’s arch rival Saudi Arabia may also be close to a deal.
In a statement, Iran’s Foreign Ministry said Bahrain’s normalisation “will remain in the historical memory of the oppressed and downtrodden people of Palestine and the world’s free nations forever.”
Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard also denounced Bahrain’s move using similar language, calling it a betrayal of the Palestinian people and a “threat to security in West Asia and the Muslim world.”
The agreements by the UAE and now Bahrain are a setback for Palestinian leaders, who have urged Arab nations to withhold recognition until they have secured an independent state.