Iran said it received a message from Bahrain to normalize relations between the two countries after a hiatus of more than eight years.
Mohammad Jamshidi, the deputy chief of staff for political affairs to the Iranian president, said in a televised interview on Friday that Bahrain is keen to establish political relations with his country.
“Bahrain had sent a direct message to Iran asking for the resumption of bilateral relations and made the same request in a meeting held between the King of Bahrain and Russian officials,” Jamshidi said.
During a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on May 23, King Hamad said Bahrain looked forward to improving its relations with Iran.
He added that there was no reason to postpone the restoration of diplomatic relations between Bahrain and Iran.
At the time, the Interfax news agency quoted King Hamad as saying: “Arab countries are in agreement over the need to hold a peace conference to resolve the problem of the Middle East.”
He said, “Russia is the first country we are turning to to support this conference because it has the greatest international influence.”
Concerning relations with Iran, the King said, “We had problems with Iran, but not anymore. We see no reason to delay the normalization of relations with it.”
He underlined the principle of good neighborliness, adding: “We are trying to establish normal diplomatic, trade and cultural relations with it.”
Tehran Supports Inclusive Afghani Government
In a message sent to the second meeting of the regional contact group for Afghanistan, held in Tehran on Saturday, Iranian Caretaker Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani said his country has always supported all constructive initiatives for the peace, stability and development of Afghanistan.
The meeting was held in the presence of special representatives of Iran, China, Russia and Pakistan, at the Iranian Foreign Ministry's Institute for Political and International Studies.
The meeting was attended by Hassan Kazemi Qomi, the Iranian president's special envoy on Afghanistan affairs, Yue Xiaoyong, the Special Envoy of the People's Republic of China to Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, Russian presidential envoy to Afghanistan and Asif Durrani, Pakistan's Special Representative on Afghanistan.
Taliban Refuses
The Afghan government has declined to participate in a regional meeting on Afghanistan held in Tehran, a senior Taliban diplomat said on Saturday.
Zakir Jalaly, the third political director of the foreign ministry, wrote on X that the Afghan government expects that established mechanisms should be used for discussions on Afghanistan, not new ones.
The United Nations is set to hold an international meeting of various countries' special representatives for Afghanistan later this month in Doha, with the aim of increasing international cooperation on the country.
In December, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution calling for the appointment of a special envoy for Afghanistan. The Taliban have consistently been against this.
The Tasnim news agency quoted Ali Bagheri Kani as saying that almost three years had elapsed since the US troops' withdrawal from Afghanistan,” while the interim government was still struggling to solve outstanding problems in economy and development.
He then criticized the role of US troops in exacerbating Afghanistan's economic problems, and stressed that regional countries must cooperate to support development in Afghanistan without political interference.
The Iranian official then called for the formation of an inclusive government made up of all ethnic groups in order to help achieve political stability and economic development in the country.
