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Bahrain’s foreign affairs minister Abdullatif Bin Rashid Al-Zayani has met his counterpart Ali Bagheri Kani in Tehran to discuss the restoration of diplomatic ties after an eight-year break.

The exchange of envoys finally comes after Manama and Doha agreed in April 2023 to fully restore diplomatic relations, ending a schism that started in 2017 with the boycott of Doha by Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa says there is “no reason to delay” the restoration of diplomatic relations with Tehran, some eight years after they were severed, while Iran’s acting president has invited Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman to visit, in a further sign of Tehran’s efforts to improve relations with its Arab neighbours.

Brigadier General Jassim Mohammed Al-Ghattam was appointed Muharraq governorate’s deputy governor in late May for a four-year term, ending a reshuffle process for provincial official that began in August.

Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) is to develop a 2GW offshore wind project in Bahrain and is also part of the winning consortium for a 1.5GW solar power plant in its home market.

Bahraini foreign affairs minister Abdullatif Bin Rashid Al-Zayani has held talks with his counterparts in Kuwait, the UAE and Qatar, as well as Syria and Lebanon, ahead of the Arab League summit on 16 May.

The drone attack claimed by Bahrain’s Saraya Al-Ashtar on a transport company’s base at the Israeli port of Eilat in late April may have been carried out by allied Iraqi militia group Kataib Hizbollah, according to analysts.

Iranian officials have been engaged in a flurry of meetings and phone calls with GCC member states, in a sign that Tehran may be trying to leverage regional anger over the Gaza conflict to improve relations with its Arab neighbours.

The Saudi government is reportedly scaling back its ambitions for some vastly expensive megaprojects, such as The Line linear city in Neom, in a sign that Riyadh is still struggling to attract the amount of foreign direct investment needed to underpin Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s long-term economic reform agenda, while the UAE leads rivals in drawing in FDI.

More than 1,500 prisoners were pardoned by King Hamad Bin Isa All-Khalifa on 8 April to mark Eid Al-Fitr, a majority of whom appear to be political prisoners.

Manama will host the meeting of League of Arab States leaders on 16 May

Prince Salman Bin Hamad Al-Khalifa travelled to Mecca in early April for talks with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and also sat in on MBS’ meeting with the visiting Pakistani prime minister.

The Bahraini sovereign wealth fund will fold its existing agriculture assets into the new body, as part of efforts to improve food security

Bahrain’s new order, approved by the US State Department, includes 50 Abrams main battle tanks, as well as tank munitions, machine guns and smoke grenade launchers

A batch of three fighter jets arrived at the Isa Air Base on 8 March, with a further 13 due to be delivered to  Bahrain