Bahrain Diplomat Claims Iran Deal 'Has Caused Death of Dozens of Innocent Civilians' - Report

The 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) required Iran to scale back its nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief. Ex-US president Donald Trump, who sympathised with Israel in its rivalry with the Islamic Republic, ditched the agreement in 2018 and slammed Tehran with tough sanctions, reinforcing economic burdens for Iranians.

Bahraini Undersecretary for Political Affairs Sheikh Abdulla bin Ahmed bin Abdulla Al Khalifa claimed on Sunday that the 2015 Iran deal has caused "crises" and "deaths" across the Middle East, The Times of Israel reported.

According to the TOI, the diplomat said at a press briefing at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem that he had hopes the JCPOA would bring peace, "but on the contrary, it has fueled crises across the Middle East. It has increased the number of refugees that have fled into Europe. It has caused more instigation of extremism and hatred in many different regions across the Middle East."

"What result did we get out of the JCPOA, remind me?" the diplomat reportedly asked. "Was there any good result that came out of it? I do not think so. For us, we haven’t seen it."

He reportedly continued, slamming Iran for alleged interference in Bahrain's internal affairs, simultaneously accusing Tehran of supporting terrorism, and smuggling arms and drugs in the region.

"[The JCPOA] disregarded two other prime issues that the region is facing — namely [Iran's] ballistic missile programme and the malign behaviour of Iran… from what we have seen, the malign activities of Iran in the region are continuing," the foreign minister concluded, according to the TOI.

It is, however, highly controversial that the 2015 nuclear agreement could indeed have triggered a refugee crisis in Europe, given that people fled from wars in Iraq and Syria in which both Israel and the Western allies played a significant role. In Syria, the state media reports that Israel has been conducting regular airstrikes, presumably targeting what they call Iranian proxies, though Damascus has condemned it as an attack on the Arab Republic's sovereignty.

Bahrain, along the United Arab Emirates, signed the US-brokered Abraham Accords at the White House in September to normalise ties with the Jewish State. The landmark rapprochement has met with harsh criticism among Palestinians, who consider it a betrayal among several Arab States that decades ago claimed to be foes of Israel.

President Trump walks to the #AbrahamAccords signing ceremony-The White House w/ Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs&Int’l Cooperation,Bahrain Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa. #Epic 🇺🇸🇮🇱🇦🇪🇧🇭 pic.twitter.com/Ydiw7qXIvw

— Joe Piscopo (@JrzyJoePiscopo) September 15, 2020

Bahrain's foreign minister reportedly said on Sunday that a large-scale event is to be planned to celebrate the signing of the Abraham Accords: "It is impossible to let September 15 pass like this. We should celebrate."

The Gulf States still claim they are committed to the Palestinian cause, but economic ties and trade with the Jewish State speak for themselves: after the UAE and Bahrain signed the Abraham Accords, they dramatically cut back funding for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.