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

• Abdulla Al Khalifa, Bahrain’s undersecretary for political affairs, says Iran has not been a “responsible” neighbour. Iran continues to act “with impunity” in the Middle East, Khalifa said.
• He also criticised Tehran’s proclivity for developing and funding proxies in neighbouring countries. Bahrain’s King Khalifa backs efforts to resurrect the Iran nuclear deal. He also supports a two-state solution for the Palestinians with east Jerusalem as their capital.
• Bahrain signed the Abraham Accords after Israel and the United Arab Emirates initially signed following Trump administration-led negotiations.

Abdulla Al Khalifa, Bahrain’s undersecretary for political affairs, insisted that Iran has not been a “responsible” neighbour and that it continues to act “with impunity” in the Middle East.

“Iran has been acting with impunity for the past 40 years,” Khalifa said in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital last week on the sidelines of the Aspen Security Forum. “My country, Bahrain, has been complicit in Iran’s ongoing meddling in the affairs of their neighbours.”

“We believe that Iran is an important neighbour in the region, but it must be a responsible Iran that respects its neighbours’ borders, refrains from developing nuclear and ballistic capabilities, and refrains from supporting terrorism and extremism,” he added.

Khalifa previously expressed concern about Iran’s desire to develop a nuclear weapon, despite the fact that it would have “dramatic consequences” for neighbouring countries.

However, a potential nuclear weapon is only one of many destabilising activities in which Iran is involved as it continues to cause problems in the region: Khalifa emphasised Tehran’s proclivity for developing and funding proxies in neighbouring countries, such as the Houthis in Saudi Arabia and Yemen.

“Iran is doing nothing new,” Khalifa insisted, referring to the 1981 coup attempt against Bahrain by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which Iran has consistently denied funding but Bahrain continues to blame on Tehran.

He backed President Biden’s efforts to resurrect the Iran nuclear deal, calling it “the critical portfolio” that could help address “the common threat that all of us see.”

“On October 9, 2006, the world awoke to the news that North Korea had conducted its first nuclear test. It was the truth “Khalifa explained. “Until now, the world has had to deal with the consequences.”

“What if one day we all wake up to learn that Iran has conducted its first nuclear test? What happens next? “He stated.

Another important component of that security strategy is the Abraham Accords, which Bahrain moved to sign after Israel and the United Arab Emirates initially signed following Trump administration-led negotiations.

Khalifa praised the agreement as another example of the United States’ long-standing relationship with Bahrain, which has resulted in improved relations with other countries in the region.

“Having the United States as an advocate not only to put together the Abraham Accords but also to bring Bahrain to sign the establishment of joint bilateral relations with Israel is something that we greatly appreciate with the United States,” he said.

“We believe that those who have relations with Israel would help to resolve the conflict, and we believe that a two-state solution in which the Palestinians have their own independent state with east Jerusalem as its capital is the way forward.”

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