Statements made by a senior Iranian official questioning the Arab identity of Bahrain have sparked widespread anger in Manama, while the Iranian Foreign Ministry announced that Minister Abbas Araghchi will travel to Bahrain and Kuwait today, Monday, as part of his regional tours.

The Iranian minister's visit to Manama comes after years of severed relations between the two countries. It also comes amid widespread anger in Bahrain due to statements made by the head of the Iranian Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, Kamal Kharazi, who claimed that "Bahrain has separated from its motherland Iran," questioning the referendum in which the people affirmed Bahrain's Arab identity.

The Bahrain News Agency reported the condemnation from several members of the parliament regarding Kharazi's statements. It stated that the MPs emphasized that "the Kingdom of Bahrain has been Arab since time immemorial, and the Iranian claims are mere fabrications, an attempt to obscure the truths and manipulate history, and a clear attempt to export crises abroad instead of focusing on the unfortunate reality that Iran and its people are living through."

MP Ahmed Al-Salloum confirmed that "the Bahraini people, in all its components and sects, categorically rejects the claims made by the head of the Iranian Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, Kamal Kharazi, regarding the Arab identity of the Kingdom of Bahrain, and all Bahrainis stand in support of their country's Arab identity."

MP Ali Saqr Al-Dosari stressed that "the Kingdom of Bahrain is Arab Islamic in nature and substance, before the Islamic Republic of Iran," describing Kharazi's statements as "beyond the scope of history, reason, logic, and reality, and the Iranian regime must curb such statements and delusions that have no place or significance."

MP Jalila Alawi Al-Sayed Hassan explained that "the Kingdom of Bahrain has deep-rooted Arab roots, and what was stated by Kamal Kharazi does not reflect the truth," pointing out that "the Bahraini people firmly affirmed in the historical referendum their Arab and Islamic identity for the Kingdom of Bahrain."

MP Jameel Mulla Hassan asserted that "the Arab identity of the Kingdom of Bahrain has been solid and unwavering since time immemorial," noting that the remarks made by the head of the Iranian Strategic Council on Foreign Relations "come in the context of the Iranian methodology to export its crises abroad, amidst the deteriorating conditions faced by the Iranian people."

MP Mohammed Yusuf Al-Ma'rafi highlighted that "the Gulf and Arab people in general, and the Bahraini people in particular, understand that such statements which are issued from time to time are mere distortions of facts and history, and an attempt to distract Iranian public opinion from the tragic reality that they live due to the mistakes and sins of those who manage the Iranian regime."