Bahrain's Ambassador to Iraq Salah Al Malki has resumed diplomatic duties. He was summoned back to Bahrain two weeks ago for consultation after an attack by protesters on the Bahraini Embassy last month.
Upset by Manama’s hosting of a US-led Middle East peace conference, at least 200 stormed the Bahraini Embassy in Baghdad to protest against Bahrain’s participation in the US-led economic “deal of the century” plan for Palestine. Around 54 people were reportedly arrested.
Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi’s office issued a statement early on Friday that read: “The Iraqi government will never tolerate such acts, and affirms its absolute rejection of any action threatening diplomatic missions.”
Iraqi authorities deployed additional troops to disperse the protesters and secure the embassy, which sources said appeared to have been targeted by Kata’ib Hezbollah, one of the most powerful pro-Iranian armed factions in Iraq.
The protesters burned US and Bahraini flags outside the embassy in Mansour, western Baghdad, before entering the inner courtyard, taking down the Bahraini flag and replacing it with a Palestinian flag. The gesture seemingly symbolized their rejection of US President Donald Trump’s recently unveiled economic plan to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Bahraini capital Manama this week hosted a two-day “Peace to Prosperity” workshop to discuss the plan, which was attended by Jared Kushner, Trump’s adviser. Palestinian authorities rejected the proposal, which does not address the two-state solution, and refused to participate in the workshop.