Iran warns Bahrain of harsh response as West Asia tensions escalate

An adviser to Irans Supreme Leader has issued a strong warning to Bahrain stating that Tehran could respond with greater military force if it believes the Gulf nation is acting against its interestsAli Akbar Velayati stated A serious warning is being given to the Bahrainis to know their limits and not play such games with their own fate and not force Iran to adopt harsh decisions according to a report by the semiofficial Tasnim News AgencyIran accuses Bahrain of facilitating US military operationsThe warning comes after Iran claimed responsibility for targeting a US Navy base in Bahrain during attacks carried out on Friday and Saturday Tehran alleged that the United States has been using military bases in the region to launch attacks on Iranian territoryBahrain has rejected the allegation while Gulf nations have denied that their territories were used for such operations Manama condemned the attacks saying they violated the countrys sovereignty and undermined opportunities for deescalation and stability in the regionUS and Iran agree to resume technical talksThe latest developments come as the United States and Iran have agreed to halt reciprocal military strikes and resume diplomatic negotiations on Tuesday in Doha Qatar aimed at addressing the ongoing dispute over the Strait of HormuzAccording to Axios both countries have agreed to suspend military operations while continuing technical discussionsA senior US official told Axios We decided to stop all the kinetic activity referring to the suspension of active military operationsA second US official said both sides would stand down for now and that vessels can move freely while technical negotiations continueDispute centres on Strait of Hormuz agreementThe latest escalation followed disagreements over the interpretation of a memorandum of understanding MoU signed earlier this month to halt hostilities The dispute reportedly centres on Article 5 which governs commercial shipping through the Strait of HormuzUnder the agreement Iran committed to making its best efforts to ensure the safe passage of commercial vessels through the strategic waterway while the United States agreed to lift its blockade of Iranian portsTechnical issues delay diplomatic processDuring highlevel discussions held in Switzerland last week the US delegation led by Vice President JD Vance agreed to establish a direct hotline between the US military and Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps IRGC to coordinate shipping traffic through the Strait of HormuzHowever US officials said the communication channel has not yet become operational because Iran has sought formal coordination of international shipping with its forces before vessels transit the waterwayThe technical discussions were originally scheduled to continue in Switzerland with a focus on Irans nuclear programme However the recent escalation shifted both the venue and agenda to Doha with priority given to resolving the immediate maritime disputeIran later confirmed that it had cancelled Sundays scheduled technical meetings citing recent US military strikes and alleging that Washington had failed to meet the core commitments outlined in the memorandumSpeaking to Iranian state television Mehdi Fazaeili a member of the Office of Preservation and Publication of the Works of Irans Supreme Leader stated that the suspension of the talks was partly linked to access to Iranian financial assetsFazaeili said For example one of the reasons is checking if we have access to the unfrozen funds If there is no access then this condition has not been fulfilledWith inputs from ANI