Deal to normalise Israel-Bahrain ties: Iran describes it ‘shameful act’

Tehran: Iran on Saturday condemned the announcement of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Bahrain and Israel describing it as “shameful act”.

“The Iranian Foreign Ministry strongly condemns the establishment of diplomatic relations between Bahrain and the Zionist regime and considers it a shameful act that sacrifices the cause of Palestine and several decades of struggle and suffering of the Palestinian people for the sake of the US elections,” Iranian Foreign Ministry was quoted as saying by Sputnik.

Tehran warns Israel

According to the Sputnik report, Tehran also warned Israel against attempts to escalate tensions in the Persian Gulf and said Bahrain would be among the countries responsible for such destabilising acts.

On Friday, Bahrain and Israel agreed to establish diplomatic relations.

The move comes after last month, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel agreed to normalise relations. The first two Arab countries to recognise Israel were Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994.

Joint statement

A joint statement of the US, UAE and Israel had said, “President Donald J Trump, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the United Arab Emirates spoke today (Thursday) and agreed to the full normalisation of relations between Israel and the UAE.”

The UAE is making a mistake by moving closer to Israel, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani had said referring to the announcement of normalisation of ties between the two countries.