Bahrain Mirror: The US Secretary of State John Kerry held a press conference with his Bahraini counterpart Khalid Al Khalifa in the Bahraini capital Manama, following their meeting in his first visit to the island kingdom.

During the press conference, Kerry was more forceful in his criticism of the Bahraini opposition as he said: "Regrettably, I think a great mistake made when the opposition chose to boycott an election," adding that it "polarizes things rather than helps them."

"At the end, our relation with Bahrain is built on common interests that we share, and one of those interests is joint efforts to combat violent extremism," he further stated.

"We believe that broadening rights and opportunities, bringing people together in the political process, is one of the ways to counter it." said Kerry, the first US secretary of state to visit Bahrain since the government's crackdown on opposition pro-democracy protests in 2011.

Kerry; however, didn't talk about the human rights situation in detail and only said: "Here, as in all nations, we believe that respect for human rights and an inclusive political system are essential."

On a separate note, the US State Secretary addressed Iran, stressing that it "is the time for Iran to genuinely seek better relations with its neighbors and stop interferences with the domestic affairs of regional states for the benefit of regional peace and prosperity," adding that the US expects "Iran to consider mending ties with regional countries just as important as solving its nuclear dispute with world powers."

Arabic Version