5/ 6 January 2016

BAHRAIN MEDIA ROUNDUP

kingdom's civil aviation
authority had "decided to
stop flights to and from
Iran".

Bahrain cuts all air

links with Iran
Dubai (AFP) - Saudi
Arabia's
Sunni-ruled
but Shiite-majority ally
Bahrain followed Riyadh's
suit on Tuesday and cut all
air links with Iran across
the Gulf, official media
reported.

Read more

The decision comes a

day after Manama broke
off diplomatic relations
with Tehran amid an
escalating crisis between
Saudi Arabia and the
Islamic republic over
the execution of a Shiite
cleric.

Amid an ongoing political

crisis
between
Saudi
Arabia and Iran, Bahrain
promised to stop all flights
in and out of Iran, Reuters
reported, citing Saudiowned Al-Arabiya TV and
Bahrain News Agency.
Bahrain, a Saudi ally,
recalled its ambassador
from Tehran on Monday
due to the diplomatic row.
Saudi
Arabia
also
cancelled all flights to and
from Iran on Monday.

Bahrain has halted all

flights to and from Iran
a day after it joined
Saudi Arabia in severing
diplomatic ties with the
Islamic Republic.
Bahrain's
Transport
Ministry
announced
the move Tuesday in a
statement carried by the
official Bahrain News
Agency.
Bahrain is a close ally
of Saudi Arabia, which
severed
diplomatic
ties and also halted all
flights to and from Iran

The official BNA news

agency
said
on
its
Twitter account that the

Mideast
Diplomatic
Row Goes On: Bahrain
Stops Flights in and
out of Iran

The Latest: UN says

Saudi-Iran crisis won't
hurt Syria talks

Last Sunday, Saudi Arabia

cut diplomatic ties with
Iran
after
protesters
attacked its embassy in
Tehran and the consulate
in Mashhad.
The protests occurred
following the execution
of prominent Shia cleric
Nimr al-Nimr in Riyadh
on Saturday.
Iran and Saudi Arabia
are respectively the main
Shiite and Sunni powers in
the Middle East. Sudan and
Bahrain, a tiny Sunni-led
monarchy with a majority
Shiite population, broke
off ties with Iran hours
after Saudi Arabia, while
the United Arab Emirates
and Kuwait downgraded
theirs.

Read more

after Iranian protesters

attacked
Riyadh's
diplomatic
missions,
violence stemming from
Saudi Arabia's execution
of a prominent opposition
Shiite cleric.

Bahrain is ruled by a
Sunni monarchy but has
a Shiite majority which
supported mass protests in
2011 demanding greater
political rights.
The
civil
aviation
department of Bahrain's
Transport
Ministry
said
it
would
take
steps to minimize any
inconvenience
for
travelers who have prior
reservations.

Read more
The department said its
national carrier would
take steps to minimise
any inconvenience for
travelers who have prior
reservations.

Bahrain bans all flights

to and from Iran
US condemns attacks on
Saudi missions in Iran
The Kingdom of Bahrain
has halted all flights to
and from Iran a day after
it joined Saudi Arabia in
severing diplomatic ties
with Tehran.
The
Civil
Aviation
Affairs Department of
Bahrain's Transportation
and Telecommunication
Ministry
announced
the move Tuesday in a
statement carried by the
official Bahrain News
Agency.

Read more

Bahrain halts flights

to, from Iran
MANAMA, Jan 5 (KUNA)
-- Bahrain halted flights
from and to Iran, the
Transportation
and
Telecommunication
Ministry's Civil Aviation
Affairs announced on
Tuesday.
In line with a move by the
Saudi Arabia in severing
diplomatic relations with
Iran, the Civil Aviation
Affairs
directed
the
national carrier and other
ones to suspend their
flights to and from Iran,
Bahrain News Agency
(BNA) reported.
The
national
carrier
will take the necessary

procedures
to
ensure
passengers
who
have
previous bookings are not
affected, the directorate
explained, the statement
added.

Read more

Brother of prominent
Islamic State preacher
denies
being
ISIS
member at Bahrain
trial
The brother of a prominent
Islamic State preacher on
Tuesday denied he was a
member of the militant
group at a trial in Bahrain
of 24 people accused of
trying to set up an Islamic
State branch in the Gulf
Arab kingdom.
Abdullah Mubarak alBin'ali was arrested in
April when he tried
to leave Bahrain with
someone else's passport,
the supreme criminal
court heard.
His brother Turki Mubarak
al-Bin'ali, who is around

30 years old, is one of

Islamic State's most visible
preachers and ideologues,
and appears regularly in
its propaganda videos.
He authored a biography
of IS leader Abu Bakr alBaghdadi in 2013.
Abdullah and Turki are
among a group of 24 people
on trial for trying to set up
a branch of Islamic State
in Bahrain and promoting
the overthrow of the Gulf
Arab state's monarchy.
Turki, last seen in Syria, is
one of several being tried
in absentia.

Read more