The Biden administration signed a security agreement with the Gulf kingdom of Bahrain on Wednesday, pledging to protect the authoritarian nation from attack.
The form of the deal could serve as a template for other Gulf Arab governments, including the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, which have recently called on the United States to step up security to thwart the Iranian threat. .
The island nation of Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, has a particularly tense relationship with Iran, on the other side of the Persian Gulf. Under the new deal, if Saudi Arabia were attacked, the US would consult with the Bahraini government to determine the best way to “counter the ongoing invasion,” a senior Biden administration official briefed reporters on condition of anonymity. said.
One of the provisions of the agreement allows Bahrain and the United States to invite other countries to join the agreement, the official said.
“We look forward to using this agreement as a framework for additional countries that wish to participate in strengthening regional stability, economic cooperation, and innovation,” Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said at the signing ceremony.
Saudi and Emirati officials have long been frustrated with the U.S. response to attacks by Iranian-backed militias, particularly the Houthi rebels who control the north, and have called for stronger and more restrictive measures to protect their national security. They have been pressuring the US to deliver on certain promises. Yemen fell short.
Saudi officials have recently called for such increased U.S. security as one of several preconditions for establishing ties with Israel, an effort the Biden administration has been pushing for the past few months. There is. The agreement with Bahrain could provide an attractive example for Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, to emulate.
Blinken and Bahrain Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa signed the agreement, called the Comprehensive Security Integration and Prosperity Agreement, in Washington on Wednesday.
Administration officials said the two countries pledged to “stand against any external aggression.” Although the deal “does not cross the threshold of a treaty” requiring Senate assent, it is a “legally binding” commitment aimed at deterring conflict in the Middle East, officials said.
The deal angered and disappointed Bahraini activists and other critics of the Gulf monarchy, which crushed the uprising that swept the kingdom in 2011 during the Arab Spring.
Bahrain’s royal family is a Sunni Muslim majority that governs the country’s Shiite Muslim majority, many of whom complain of discrimination, corruption and political repression.
When Biden took office, he vowed to conduct foreign policy “rooted in America’s most cherished democratic values,” including human rights and “defending freedom.”
Bahrain’s human rights activists have criticized the country’s hypocrisy for supporting the Biden administration, which is accused of torturing detainees during the Arab Spring, imprisoning hundreds of political opponents and sentencing many to life in prison.
Activist Saeed Ahmed Alwadai, advocacy director at the UK-based Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy, said the security deal could be interpreted as a “green light” for Bahraini authorities to step up political repression. ”.
“The U.S. government is siding with the Bahraini regime and abandoning its most basic desire for political prisoners and human rights,” Alwaday said.
Bahrain’s National Communication Center, which responds to inquiries from international media, denied in a statement earlier this month that Bahrainis had been detained for expressing “peaceful political views” and said the government was committed to protecting citizens’ right to freedom of expression. claimed to support.
The deal with the U.S. government comes a day after hundreds of Bahraini prisoners who had been refusing food for more than a month announced they were calling off their hunger strike due to declining health, and the government promised to improve their conditions. signed. Their collective actions sparked street protests in Bahrain.
The Biden administration said in a statement that human rights are an important part of the dialogue between the two countries. The official said the US government would “not hesitate” to raise such issues with Bahrain.
At the signing ceremony, Prince Salman said that in today’s world, “people are faced with many choices: between the rise of authoritarianism and the rise of liberalism.”
He said he believed the agreement would form the “foundation of a new global architecture” of historic importance.
“This is an open agreement,” he said. “We would welcome more members if possible.”
michael crowley Contributed to reporting from Washington.