In late June, Israeli media reported deployment of radars in the United Arab Emirates and possibly Bahrain, suggesting they may be part of “the regional defense network Israel is attempting to establish with the US and its Gulf allies against Iran.” The reports were met by reactions from the Bahraini opposition and Nour News, unofficial mouthpiece of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council:

• June 26: Hussain Aldaihi, the deputy secretary general of Bahrain’s banned Shia Islamist political society al-Wefaq, in an interview with Fars News Agency, warned the Bahraini government against entangling the country in Israel’s future wars: “Relations between Bahrain and Israel are not equal, as Bahrain will be threatened by any conflict in which Israel is involved. This is particularly true if military equipment is based in Bahrain. This will make Bahrain the hot center and core of conflicts, both regional and extraregional, which threaten its sovereignty and independence.” In the interview, Aldaihi also accused the Bahraini government of “treason” by “surrendering Bahraini sovereignty to the Zionists.” Shifting focus to U.S. and British naval bases in Bahrain, he said: “Matters of sovereignty must not just be government decisions … such decisions must be taken by the nation.”
• July 10: Nour News tweeted, “The U.S. and, secretly, the rogue Zionist regime, establishing and managing an integrated defense system in the region, is a threat. Should execution of such plans in any way threaten the security of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the response will be directed to the geographically closest targets within reach.”

There is no mention of Iran in the interview, but Aldaihi is clearly warning against Bahrain’s exposure to dangers of war in the case of a military conflict between Israel and Iran. What Aldaihi fails to realize are the veiled and unveiled threats from the Islamic Republic, which chased Arab states into the arms of Israel in an attempt to counterbalance Iran. Still worse, such statements, and repetition of the message by media close to Iran’s SNSC, may reinforce accusations against Bahrain’s once largest, but since 2016 banned, political society of serving foreign masters. Finally, Aldaihi’s response regarding the future of the U.S. naval presence in Bahrain is not likely to gain him friends in Washington.

AGSIW’s Iran Media Review monitors, translates, and reviews critical Persian-language media sources identifying important developments and trends in the Islamic Republic of Iran.