Bahrain Mirror (Exclusive): As Saudi Arabia and the UAE are taking rapid steps to reconcile with Iran and Syria, Bahrain’s officials remain silent. As usual, the Bahraini regime lacks initiative, is skeptical about settlements, and is slow, but it is the fastest to ignite differences. 

Going back to the official statements in Bahrain, the last official statement issued by the commander of the army, Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, was in a meeting with the editors of local newspapers last February. 

He said: “We do not trust the Iranian regime because of the constant threat and terrorism it shows to our Gulf countries.” He further called on Iran to stop its alleged aggressive policies and “destabilization of security and stability in the region.”

The Field Marshal exaggerated to the extent of what is popularly called “Chaos” when he confirmed that the Gulf Cooperation Council countries are capable of dealing with Iran by various means, saying, “We are ready for all options.”

This was the last official statement by a Bahraini official regarding Iran. However, after Saudi Arabia and the UAE have rushed towards rapprochement and reconciliation, the regime in Bahrain seems silent and reluctant to change its language and rhetoric.

Iran revealed through its foreign minister that it is talking with Bahrain behind the scenes and expressed its readiness to resolve the outstanding issues between the two countries, but silence still prevails from the Bahrainis part.

The region is entering a new phase, and analysts believe that the agreement between Tehran and Riyadh has brought down the project of making Iran an enemy of the nation instead of Israel. Meanwhile, the policy of the king, his entourage of Khawalid and the interior minister is taking the country towards open crises without resolution.

It has become clear that the Minister of the Royal Court Khalid bin Ahmed and his brother Khalifa, the commander of the army, as well as officials like Interior Minister Rashid bin Abdullah and others, literally live on the survival of crises rather than solving them, so you find their voice loud at every turn where the country was expected to enter a state of calm or was thinking about resolving a crisis. This is what the Field Marshal did last February, although he is not a junior official who does not know the path to the next truce, but he chose to show arrogance and militancy. 

This militancy is what made the issue of resolving outstanding issues and negotiations to repair relations with neighboring Qatar stand without progress after the first meeting that took place in Riyadh between the delegations of the two countries. Qatari academic Mohammed Al-Mesfer told the Lualua Channel about this a week ago.

If the outstanding issues with Doha have stopped reconciliation so far, what is the case with the more important files that the Bahraini regime has accumulated with Iran?

Will we hear about a reconciliation soon from Manama, or will the regime remain captive to the excessive militant approach that made the country get involved in all the crises of the region, which is the trio approach: The King, the Minister of Royal Court and his brother, the Field Marshal, the Commander of the Army. Will the bet remain on Israel which is mired in its own internal crises? So will the regime continue to adopt a buy-and-wait approach until a problem or disagreement flares here or there? 

Arabic Version