Jordan, Egypt, Bahrain on brink of normalizing relations with Iran
Tehran, Arab World on path to convergence
By Ebrahim Beheshti
Staff writer
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has embarked on a regional tour, which kicked off in Beirut and has now reached Kuwait and Bahrain. On October 4, amid escalating Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon and just three days after Iran’s military operations against Israeli targets, Araghchi arrived in Beirut. He then proceeded to visit Syria, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Iraq, Jordan, Egypt, and Turkey.
The primary objective of these diplomatic missions was to ease mounting tensions and prevent the conflict from spreading, while also calling for an end to Israeli attacks on Lebanon and Gaza. Supporting the Axis of Resistance and the people of Lebanon and Palestine was also high on the agenda.
Araghchi’s recent visits to Kuwait and Bahrain are a continuation of these efforts. The concerns about the escalation of existing tensions have made regional consultations more crucial than ever, and naturally, these discussions have been highlighted in the statements of foreign ministers and the media.
However, Araghchi’s visits to Jordan, Egypt, and now Bahrain are particularly noteworthy in the context of bilateral relations between Tehran and these three countries. If we consider the signing of the agreement to normalize relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia in 2023 a turning point in reviving ties between Iran and Arab countries, Araghchi’s visits to Amman, Cairo, and Manama can be seen as a follow-up to that event, bringing the Arab world and Iran closer together.
Although the groundwork for improving relations with Arab countries was laid during the previous administration under Ebrahim Raisi, the new government has picked up the pace, prioritizing enhanced relations with neighboring countries and regional players under its “constructive engagement with the world” program. This initiative is now gaining momentum and is expected to take on a more practical dimension.
The Iranian foreign minister is set to visit Bahrain at a time when relations between Tehran and Manama have been strained since the Arab Spring protests swept the region in 2011. The severing of diplomatic ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran in 2016, following an attack on the Saudi Embassy in Tehran by a group of Iranian citizens, led to several other Arab countries, including Bahrain, Djibouti, Somalia, Sudan, and the Maldives, cutting off their diplomatic relations with Iran. However, following the easing of tensions between Tehran and Riyadh, Bahrain remains the only country that has yet to normalize its diplomatic relations with Iran, and now the two countries are on the cusp of a breakthrough.
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