Iran and Bahrain agree to talk about how they might resume diplomatic relations severed since 2016

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran and Bahrain have agreed to talk about how they might resume bilateral relations after nearly eight years, Iranian media reported Monday.

The report by state-run IRNA news agency said Iran’s acting foreign minister Ali Bagheri Kani and his Bahraini counterpart Abdullatif bin Rashid al-Zayani spoke on the sidelines of the ongoing Asian Cooperation Dialogue in Tehran.

The report said both sides agreed on creating the framework to start talks on the requirements for resuming diplomatic relations.

This is al-Zayani's second visit to Tehran in a month. The first came during the memorial for President Ebrahim Raisi who died in a helicopter crash in May.

Bahrain cut its diplomatic relations with Iran after Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic ties with Tehran following Riyadh’s execution of an opposition Shiite cleric and attacks on Saudi diplomatic posts in Iran in 2016. Iran and Saudi Arabia resumed their diplomatic relations in 2023.