Bahrain Mirror: The Bahraini Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmad Al Khalifa said that the Gulf states are planning to buy the anti-missile defence system and are in negotiations with the United States over this issue, but there is definitely no such deal between the Gulf states and Israel whatsoever.

The FM further denied "any implication that Bahraini or any of his brother states in the Gulf is in negotiations with Israel over defence or other issues," stressing that the GCC is committed to the Arab Peace Initiative which states that normalization of relations between the Arab World and Israel will only occur when Israel completely withdraws from the occupied Arab territories, including East Al-Quds (Jerusalem)."

For its part, the Bahraini Embassy in Britain issued a statement on Friday (October 16, 2015), following what was circulated by various media outlets recently attributing comments to the Bahraini FM in his response to a question by the Sky News journalist Sam Kiley about whether the "Gulf states purchased an anti-missile defence system," and said that the Bahraini FM Khalid bin Ahmad bin Mohammad Al Khalifa was asked whether the Gulf states, amid Iranian threats, are planning to purchase an anti-missile defence system similar to the one Israel owns, so he answered: "Bahrain and other Gulf states are in ongoing negotiations with the United States to buy an anti-missile defence system to protect the region from such potential threats posed by Iran, especially after an increase in the rate of Iranian interference following the signing of the nuclear deal with the P5+1.

The journalist then asked if this defence system is based on the "Israeli Iron Dome," so the FM said: "It is known that Israel has the Iron Dome but we will have another different dome, suitable for our needs in the region and that's what we are negotiating with the US."

Arabic Issue