ISTANBUL
Bahrain said Saturday it will not participate in a proposed ministerial meeting on the situation in the Strait of Hormuz or any multilateral meeting involving Iran before diplomatic relations between Manama and Tehran are restored.
“In light of what has been circulated by media outlets and social media platforms regarding a proposed ministerial meeting on the situation in the Strait of Hormuz, the Foreign Ministry clarifies that the Kingdom of Bahrain will not participate in it and will not be party to any collective meeting involving Iran before diplomatic relations between the two countries are restored,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
“This position was previously communicated to our brothers in the Sultanate of Oman through official channels and does not diminish the kingdom’s appreciation for their sincere efforts or its commitment to dialogue as a means of resolving disputes,” it added.
The ministry cited recent attacks targeting Bahrain and Saudi Arabia’s East-West oil pipeline, stressing that dialogue “cannot ignore the facts.”
Any arrangement concerning the Strait of Hormuz “must safeguard the right to transit passage for all ships without discrimination, fees, or permits,” it noted.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said early Saturday that foreign ministers from Arab states would meet in Muscat on Monday to sign an agreement establishing a joint Iran-Oman shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz.
The US and Israel launched a war on Iran on Feb. 28, prompting Tehran to fire missiles and drones at Israel and regional countries hosting US assets.
Iran also announced the closure of the Strait of Hormuz to navigation, causing widespread disruption to global energy and trade flows.
In June, Washington and Tehran reached a memorandum of understanding to end military operations, including guarantees for the passage of commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz and the launch of negotiations to reach a final agreement within 60 days. The deal, however, faltered, and confrontations resumed, with the US renewing strikes on targets inside Iran and reimposing a naval blockade on Iranian ports.
