Bahrain reached out to Iran through Russia for normalization.

Mohammad Jamshidi, the deputy chief of staff for political affairs to the Iranian president, revealed this in a televised interview on Friday.

Jamshidi noted that Hezbollah’s Secretary-General, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, was among the first to support the normalization of ties agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia under President Ebrahim Raeisi's government. He also mentioned that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had expressed interest in normalizing relations with Iran through China's President, Xi Jinping.

Furthermore, Jamshidi disclosed that Bahrain had conveyed a message to Iran through Russia expressing its intent to normalize relations.

Last week, King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifah mentioned during a visit to China that Bahrain was actively working towards restoring diplomatic ties with neighboring Iran.

Bahrain had severed diplomatic relations with Iran on January 4, 2016, following an incident where Iranian protesters attacked its diplomatic mission in Iran after the execution of Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr by the Saudi government.

However, in March 2023, Iran and Saudi Arabia reached an agreement in Beijing to restore their diplomatic relations and reopen embassies.

During a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on May 23, King Hamad expressed Bahrain's desire to improve relations with Iran and emphasized the importance of restoring diplomatic ties without delay.

Bahrain's Foreign Minister, Abdullatif al-Zayani, also visited Tehran recently to offer condolences on the passing of Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi, who died in a helicopter crash in northwest Iran on May 19.