Manama and Tehran have held secret talks in recent months, and Bahrain could follow the Saudis in restoring relations with the Islamic Republic.
A “senior regional source” told the U.K.-based Amwaj.media news outlet that “low-profile exchanges” have taken place focused not on the political level but on “administrative and bureaucratic issues.”
“After the reopening of the embassies in Tehran and Riyadh, there will, after a short period of time, also likely be a normalization between Iran and Bahrain, the source said. “There is no serious [outstanding] issue between Iran and Bahrain.”
Bahrain followed Saudi Arabia in severing diplomatic ties with Tehran in 2016 after Iranian protesters attacked Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran in response to the kingdom executing Shia religious figure Nimr al-Nimr.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani on Monday said in relation to the rapprochement with Saudi Arabia that “fortunately, with the positive atmosphere that we are witnessing in the region, this positive development can happen in connection with other regional countries as well, including Bahrain. We should further trust the path of diplomacy and take steps in this direction.”
Bahrain is one of four Arab Muslim countries to normalize relations with Israel as part of the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords.