Bahraini official: Iran proxies ‘nothing new,’ nuclear deal ‘critical’ to combat ‘common threat’

Abdulla Al Khalifa, undersecretary for political affairs of Bahrain, insisted that Iran has not acted as a “accountable” neighbor and threatens the steadiness of the Center East because it continues to behave “with impunity.” 

“Iran has been appearing with impunity for the previous 40 years,” Khalifa advised Fox Information Digital in an unique interview on the sidelines of the Aspen Safety Discussion board final week. “My nation, Bahrain, has been a part of Iran’s steady interference of their neighbors’ affairs.”

“We do imagine that Iran is a crucial neighbor within the area however a accountable Iran that will respect the borders of its neighbors, that will chorus from growing its nuclear and ballistic capabilities, and that will chorus from supporting terrorism and extremism,” he added.

Khalifa beforehand mentioned considerations over Iran’s ambition to attain a nuclear weapon though it is going to have an effect on neighboring nations “in a really dramatic approach.” 

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However a possible nuclear weapon is only one of many destabilizing actions with which Iran engages because it continues to trigger issues within the area: Khalifa highlighted Tehran’s penchant for growing and funding proxies in neighboring nations, together with the Houthis, who function in Saudi Arabia and Yemen.

“It is nothing new that Iran is doing,” Khalifa insisted, pointing to the 1981 coup try by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) towards Bahrain, which Iran has persistently denied funding however Bahrain continues to attribute to Tehran. 

FILE – Bahrain Overseas Minister Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, left, and U.S. Ambassador to Bahrain William Roebuck, proper, greet U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, heart, as he arrives at Bahrain Worldwide Airport in Manama, Bahrain, April 6, 2016.
(Jonathan Ernst/Pool by way of AP)

He backed the Iran nuclear deal that President Biden has tried to resurrect, calling it “the vital portfolio” that would assist handle “the widespread risk that every one of us view.” 

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“Oct. 9, 2006, the world woke as much as the information that North Korea examined its first nuclear weapon. It was the truth,” Khalifa mentioned. “Till now, the world is going through its penalties.”

FILE – President Donald Trump meets with Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Could 21, 2017.
(Reuters/Jonathan Ernst)

“What if in the future all of us get up to the information that Iran has examined its first nuclear weapon? What’s going to occur subsequent?” he mentioned.

One other key piece in that safety technique rests within the Abraham Accords, which Bahrain moved to signal after Israel and United Arab Emirates initially signed after negotiations led by the Trump administration. 

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Khalifa praised the settlement as one other occasion of the long-standing relationship between the U.S. and Bahrain — one which has led to improved relations with different nations within the area.

“Having the USA as an advocate to not solely put the Abraham Accords collectively however to deliver Bahrain to signal the institution of joint bilateral relations with Israel is a matter that we respect very a lot with the USA,” he mentioned. 

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“We imagine those that have relations with Israel would improve a decision to the battle, and we imagine having a two-state answer whereby the Palestinians may have their very own unbiased state with east Jerusalem as its capital is the best way ahead.”

Fox Information’ Kelsey Koberg contributed to this report.