Bahrain has accused Moayad Abdul Rahman, the Iraqi charge d’affaires, of repeatedly interfering in the internal political affairs of the kingdom, breaching diplomatic norms. As a result, Bahrain summoned Mr Abdul Rahman and issued an official protest note, as per Mohammed Issa Al Abbasi, the spokesperson for Bahrain’s National Communication Centre. This development is unrelated to any commercial disputes between the two countries, clarified Mr Al Abbasi.
Bahrain has welcomed Iraq’s Foreign Ministry’s decision to return Mr Abdul Rahman to Baghdad, which was followed by the official protest note. According to state news agency BNA, Mr Abdul Rahman made repeated violations, and his recent unacceptable behaviour interfered with Bahrain’s internal affairs.
This is not the first time Bahrain has summoned diplomats from Iraq. In 2019, the Bahraini Foreign Ministry summoned the Iraqi charge d’affaires after Muqtada Al Sadr, an Iraqi Shiite leader, made comments viewed by Manama as insulting. The foreign ministry deemed Mr Al Sadr’s comments as an unacceptable offence against Bahrain and its leadership.
Similarly, in July 2019, Bahrain’s foreign ministry summoned its ambassador to Iraq, Salah Al Maliki, for consultations after protesters stormed its embassy building in Baghdad. In 2018, Nihad Rajab Askar, then the deputy charge d’affaires of the Iraqi embassy to Bahrain, was summoned by Bahrain’s foreign ministry after former Iraqi prime minister Nouri Al Maliki met with the February 14 movement, a Bahraini group that Manama had designated as a terrorist group in 2014.
Mr Al Abbasi emphasized that the current incident is unrelated to commercial arrangements in the transport sector between the two countries. The diplomatic dispute is instead focused on the alleged interference by the Iraqi diplomat in Bahrain’s internal affairs. Bahrain’s decision to summon and protest against Mr Abdul Rahman’s behaviour is the latest addition to the series of diplomatic disputes between the two countries.
Bahrain has accused the Iraqi charge d’affaires of violating diplomatic norms by interfering in the kingdom’s internal political affairs repeatedly. This has led to the summoning of Mr Abdul Rahman and an official protest note. Bahrain has praised Iraq’s Foreign Ministry’s decision to return the diplomat to Baghdad. The incident is not related to commercial disputes, and the diplomatic dispute centres on alleged interference in Bahrain’s internal affairs.
