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Bahrain’s plan to form anti-Iran alliance with Israel is betrayal: Wefaq

Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid al-Zayani (R) and head of the Israeli delegation Meir Ben Shabbat, bump elbows after a signing ceremony attended by then US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin (back), in Bahrain's capital Manama, on October 18, 2020. (Photo by AFP)

Bahrain's main opposition group has denounced the Bahraini regime’s plan to join Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in forming an alliance with the Israeli regime against Iran, calling the move an act of betrayal.

The al-Wefaq National Islamic Society, in a statement released on Thursday, condemned the al-Khalifah regime’s intention to join the anti-Iran coalition as the ultimate betrayal of national values in Bahrain.

"The Zionists tend to quickly drown anyone who clings to them," the statement said.

“All strata of the Bahraini society are opposed to any friendship with the Zionists. Attempts to dance to their tune show the weakness and humiliation [of the Bahraini regime],” it added.

8- عبرت الوفاق عن سخطها ورفضها للحديث عن إقامة تحالف أمني يضم البحرين والكيان الصهيوني واعتبرته في سياق خيانة المباديء والقيم وأكدت أن الصهاينة سيغرقون من يتشبث بهم سريعاً، pic.twitter.com/tvEeiInC6y

— Alwefaq Society (@ALWEFAQ) March 4, 2021

The Jerusalem Post newspaper, citing an unnamed Israeli official familiar with the matter, reported on March 1 that Israel, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain have discussed expanding cooperation and forming an alliance against Iran.

Speaking in an interview with Russia’s Arabic-language RT Arabic television news network on Wednesday, former Iranian defense minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi warned the Persian Gulf states against joining an alliance against Iran together with Israel, saying the move will bring “catastrophic consequences” upon them.

Vahidi, who is a member of Iran’s Expediency Council, said Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain lacked the capability to face Iran.

Therefore, Vahidi said, “it is unlikely that they would be so stupid as to join an alliance against us with the Zionist entity.” If they were to join such an alliance, “they will endure very powerful blows.”

“We hope they do not sink any further into the Israeli quagmire because joining such an alliance would bring catastrophic consequences upon them,” he said.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu signed agreements with Emirati Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Abdullatif Al Zayani during an official ceremony hosted by former US president Donald Trump at the White House on September 15 last year.

Palestinians, who seek an independent state in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip with East Jerusalem al-Quds as its capital, view the deals as a betrayal of their cause.

The Israeli regime has significantly stepped up its much-criticized land grab projects since its normalization deals with the UAE and Bahrain — followed by Sudan and Morocco.

The UAE and Bahrain have also dramatically slashed their financial assistance to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) after the two Persian Gulf states agreed to normalize ties with Israel last August.

A member of Netanyahu’s cabinet and Likud party on November 23 last year confirmed reports that Netanyahu had flown to Saudi Arabia for a clandestine meeting with the kingdom’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and then US secretary of state Mike Pompeo.

Israel’s Kan public radio and Army Radio said Mossad chief Yossi Cohen also attended the meeting.

The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas denounced the meeting as an “insult” to the Palestinian cause.

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri described the Israeli premier's meeting, which was reportedly held in Neom on Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast, as “dangerous”.


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