Supporters of the leader of the Diaspora, Ayatollah Issa Qassem, took to the streets of the town of Barber. By far "
The demonstration against Israel in Bahrain
Ayatollah Issa Qassem // Photo: Wikipedia
US flags, UAE, Bahrain and Israel // Photo: AFP
A strategic, unique and special archipelago is Bahrain.
With an important location, a Sunni monarchy that controls an absolute Shiite majority and more foreign workers than civilians - the relationship between interests and the small territory of Bahrain is exceptional.
The caliphate in Manama, led by King Hemed, does claim in official documents that the ratio of Muslim communities in Bahrain is 51% Sunni and 49% Shiite - but it is clear that this source of fear is the source.
The Shiite majority criticizes it in the morning news, and the very normalization agreement with Israel is another excuse for criticism.
Evidence of this could be obtained tonight (Monday) in the town of Barber.
Supporters of the Diaspora extremist spiritual leader, Ayatollah Issa Qassem, protested against the normalization of relations with Israel - including a sign in Hebrew: "The people of Bahrain are rejecting normalization."
It is clear to all that without significant American commitments, even more so than those in the agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, normalization would not have taken place now.
The Fifth Fleet, the significant naval force of the U.S. Central Command headed by Vice-Admiral Samuel Paparo, is based in Bahrain, and it is not inconceivable that more American forces will soon be known to flow into the island - with the known fear coming from Tehran.
These forces will join Saudi and Emirati forces that have helped Beit Khalifa survive the Arab Spring demonstrations.
The eradication of the Shiite protest in the main, with significant Iranian assistance, did not just turn the tide of Iranian terrorist activity under the leadership of a Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guards.
All this, from a perception in Tehran that "Bahrain is the 14th province of Iran."
Bahrain is a Hezbollah area of activity beyond Lebanon, but there are also local pro-Iranian militias, al-Ashtar battalions and al-Mukhtar battalions.
The orders are transmitted to them directly from Tehran with the help of the militia chiefs who generally sit up.
However, their activities and attacks are not large-scale - and very far from those carried out by pro-Iranian militias in other countries.
Iran is stirring - but with little success
For Tehran this is not enough and it is constantly trying to improve the capabilities of the local militias.
In the article "The Pro-Iranian Trans-National Terrorist Array: Strategic Weapons for Command Day", Dr. Yossi Manshroff, a researcher at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security and at the Aid Center for Iran and the Persian Gulf Research at the University of Haifa, says that Shiite militias in Bahrain train , With Hezbollah in Lebanon, as well as with Shiite militias in Iraq, where support also includes arms smuggling.
For now, Iran is having a hard time diverting the majority of the Shiite population to its side - and the reason for this is mostly historical.
The Bahraini Shiite community has always been inclined to religious seminars in Iraq rather than Iran - and hence, even today, only the extremist minority on the island is pro-Iranian.
Evidence of religious patience in Bahrain can be obtained from the Jewish community in the country in general and from the story of the Jewish Huda Nono in particular.
Although it is a community of a few dozen, Nono became the state ambassador to the United States between the years 2013-2008. In contrast to his dealings with the Jews, Beit Khalifa has not yet been able to integrate Shiites into key positions in the country and may do so. Against them will dissipate.
Finally, the clear news is that normalization with Bahrain is linked to Saudi Arabia.
Manama is facing a difficult political and economic situation - and if it were not for Riyadh, on which they are completely dependent, it is doubtful if they were still in power.
And so, it is clear that in the absence of Muhammad bin Salman's approval for normalization with Israel - this step would not have happened.
And now, who knows?
Perhaps normalization with Saudi Arabia at the door.
UAE - Strange Chicken
In Hebrew, the term "strange chicken" comes to express an unusual export from the routine - but in the case of the United Arab Emirates, the country can be defined as the special chicken of the Middle East and perhaps even of the whole world.
A federal state made up of seven principalities that have been run for nearly 50 years together and separately in extraordinary harmony on the road to success.
Leading the de facto United Arab Emirates are the royal family of Abu Dhabi, the largest and most important emirate of all.
The president of the official union is Amir Abu Dhabi, Khalifa bin Zayed, but due to his precarious health - the one who functions as the de facto ruler is his brother, Crown Prince Muhammad.
The actual ruler is the one who was the architect of the local peace.
Even before the agreement with Israel, the Crown Prince cared for minorities, including the Jewish community of about 3,000 people.
Within the local government there is the Ministry of Tolerance, headed by Nahian a-Nahian, whose concern for the Jews of the Emirates is among its tasks.
Muhammad, who by virtue of his position also trusts the security forces, has in recent years taken care to strengthen the level of local security in a direct struggle against the local "Muslim Brotherhood" movement.
He has arrested more than 100 Sunni activists, who are receiving significant assistance from Shiite Iran - following the partnership of anti-Israel interests.
Another notable point in the UAE is the tough regime in which one does not understandably accept harsh criticism against Crown Prince Muhammad.
Although there is local criticism of the normalization agreement, a reminder of the pro-Palestinian policy of the first president of the United Arab Emirates and Muhammad's father - Emir Zayed, it is not heard as widely as it was last Friday and Saturday in Bahrain.
"Bahrain has a strategic interest in the agreement"
Israel and the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) in general, and the United Arab Emirates in particular, have a significant similar interest and it is - of course - Iran.
On May 12, 2019, four ships were attacked near the port of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates: two of them Saudi, one Emirati and one Norwegian.
Subsequently, on September 14 last year, Iran carried out an unprecedented attack on oil facilities of the Saudi company Aramco with about 20 UAVs and seven cruise missiles. These attacks, in the Iranian seizure, were against the US partners - similar to the seizure followed by Saddam Hussein fired Scuds at Israel during the Gulf War.
And now, even in Abu Dhabi, they understand that the road to proper defense against Tehran - passes through Jerusalem.
"The emirates had an interest in Bahrain joining the peace agreement with Israel because it gives their agreement more legitimacy. This is a step they encouraged," said Dr. Joel Guzensky, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies, an expert on the Gulf states and a former member of the National Security Council.
He added that "the United Arab Emirates is the second largest economy in the Middle East. "Iran in the past year. Relations with the United Arab Emirates, without harming Bahrain, are more important to Israel."
Haim Tomer, former head of the World Division at the Mossad, says that "the United Arab Emirates has a very strong army and very strong ties with the Americans, because in Washington's eyes - the position of the emirates is very important. .