MANAMA, Bahrain: A reported Bahrain Iran-US meeting on June 17 discussed ways to contain an emerging Tehran-Washington understanding, according to Nournews, citing unnamed Bahraini sources.
The report said UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed and U.S. Central Command commander Gen. Brad Cooper attended. It also named a senior Mossad adviser and said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio joined remotely.
Nournews said participants discussed the implications of an Iran-US framework that had taken shape a day earlier. The account portrayed the talks as an effort to prevent that understanding from becoming permanent.
The report said the Strait of Hormuz was a central concern. It alleged that participants feared the agreement could strengthen Iran’s role in future security arrangements around the waterway.
The same sources said the meeting considered a “southern route” involving pressure on Oman and greater use of US military capabilities.
Read: US, Iran Clash at UN Over Bahrain Attacks and Hormuz
Nournews also linked the meeting to later efforts to broaden the diplomatic agenda to include missiles, drones and Iran-backed groups. A July 5 US-Gulf Cooperation Council statement addressed several of those issues.
The supplied material does not include independent confirmation from Bahrain, the United States, the United Arab Emirates or Israel that the June 17 meeting occurred as described.
