Bahrain has sent a message through Russia for normalization of relations with Tehran after eight years of cut-off ties, an Iranian government official says.

Mohammad Jamshidi, the deputy chief of staff for political affairs to the Iranian president, made the remarks in a televised interview on Friday.

Referring to the normalization of ties agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia in the government of President Ebrahim Raeisi, Jamshidi said that Hezbollah’s Secretary-General “Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah was the first one to support it, and then the resistance brothers in Yemen supported it.”

Jamshidi said that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had also requested to normalize relations with Iran through the President of China, Xi Jinping.   

“Likewise, Bahrain has sent a message to Iran through Russia to normalize relations with Iran,” he stated.
King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifah said last week in China Bahrain was working to restore diplomatic relations with neighboring Iran.

“We believe in the principle of good neighborliness and non-interference in internal affairs," King Hamad said during a meeting with Chinese President Xi in Beijing, where he was on a state visit.

“We are working to restore diplomatic relations with Iran as a neighbor,” he added.

The king said his country welcomes China’s support for efforts aimed at promoting peace and stability in West Asia.

Bahrain followed Saudi Arabia to sever diplomatic relations with Iran on January 4, 2016, after Iranian protesters, enraged by the execution of prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr by the Saudi government, stormed its diplomatic mission in Iran.

Iran and Saudi Arabia reached an agreement in the Chinese capital of Beijing in March 2023 to restore their diplomatic relations and re-open embassies and missions.
 
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.

Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif al-Zayani recently visited Tehran to offer condolences on the passing of Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi, who lost his life alongside seven others in a helicopter crash in northwest Iran on May 19.