Bahrain Claims to Have Foiled Iranian Attack

Bahrain announced Sunday it had successfully thwarted an Iranian-backed terrorist attack earlier this year against a visiting foreign delegation, fingering no less than 18 suspects, nine of whom are reportedly currently in Iran. According to the Gulf nation’s Interior Ministry, a group self-styled the “Qasem Soleimani Brigade,” named after the Iranian general killed in a US drone attack in Baghdad in January, planned to target several public buildings and security complexes in the island state. Bahrain, home to the US’s 5^th Fleet and loyal ally to its neighboring patron Saudi Arabia, has repeatedly accused Iran of attempting to destabilize its Sunni ruling family’s hold over the country’s Shi’ite majority. Last week, Bahrain, along with the United Arab Emirates, signed the Abraham Accords that opened diplomatic relations with Israel in a ceremony on the White House lawn.