Bahrain, Israel discuss reinforcing bilateral security relations

Bahrain’s Undersecretary for International Relations at Foreign Ministry Shaikh Abdulla Bin Ahmed Al Khalifa discussed reinforcing security relations with Israeli officials during his four-day visit to the occupation state this week, Sama news agency reported.

Al Khalifa landed in Israel on Sunday to start a four-day visit aimed at deepening relations between Manama and Tel Aviv.

He met with several senior Israeli officials and discussed issues related to various fields. He met with Israel Major General Tal Kalman, who heads Iran’s Directorate in the Israeli army.

The Bahraini official said Iran is considered the main threat to the region. “It has fueled crises across the Middle East. It has increased the number of refugees that have fled into Europe. It has caused more instigation of extremism and hatred in many different regions across the Middle East.”

Criticising the nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, Al Khalifa said it brought “more crises and more chaos in the region.”

READ: In Israel, Bahrain minister slams Iran nuclear deal

The Bahrain official added: “Speaking from a Bahraini perspective and the experience of my country with Iran that we see continuous interference in domestic affairs in my country, support of extremism and terrorism, continuous smuggling of arms and explosives and drugs and narcotics.”

He also said that the nuclear deal “has caused the death of tens of security forces and innocent civilians and thousands of injured security personnel.”

Al Khalifa met with Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and took part in a diving trip along with Foreign Ministry Director-General Alon Ushpiz in the Mediterranean.

This visit is the second such visit by a senior Bahraini official to Israel since the signing of the normalisation deals in September 2020.