Britain Opens Permanent Military Base in Bahrain

On Thursday, April 5, Britain inaugurated its permanent military base in Bahrain. This is the first permanent base for the country in the Middle East after four decades of absence. Thus, the British Navy joins the United States Navy, which has had its Fifth Fleet stationed in Bahrain for years. According to the Bahrain News Agency, the military base was opened with the presence of the Crown Prince of Bahrain and a British prince at the port known as Salman. This base provides Britain with the opportunity for a permanent and extensive presence alongside one of the world's most important maritime transport routes, namely the Persian Gulf. The naval base, known as 'HMS Jufair,' which was announced to be constructed in 2014, can accommodate about 500 personnel from the Royal Navy. The Associated Press, citing British officials, describes this base as 'the first permanent base for the country east of the Suez Canal since 1971.' Additionally, a British naval commander described the purpose of establishing this base as 'ensuring maritime security in the region... and combating piracy and terrorism.' As Britain establishes a permanent presence in Bahrain on the shores of the Persian Gulf, the waters of this region have, especially in recent years, been the site of confrontations and provocations between Iranian and American forces. In recent years, numerous reports have emerged of confrontations between the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps vessels and American warships in the Persian Gulf, with American officials repeatedly describing the actions of the IRGC vessels approaching their ships as 'unprofessional' and 'unsafe,' warning of the 'risk of miscalculation' resulting from these confrontations. In response, Iranian officials have always stated that the mission of these vessels is conducted within Iran's territorial waters, and Iran's Ministry of Defense has emphasized that the monitoring of foreign vessels' movements in the Persian Gulf 'naturally occurs in Iran's territorial waters.' However, a senior commander in the U.S. Navy reported to journalists on Thursday, March 14, about the 'cessation of provocative actions' by Iranian military forces in the Persian Gulf. On the other hand, Iran has long had a verbal and diplomatic dispute with Bahrain, which is an ally of Saudi Arabia in the region. Bahrain, like Saudi Arabia, has repeatedly accused the Islamic Republic of interfering in its internal affairs and occasionally reports the detention of individuals or networks 'linked to Iran.' Britain first established the Jufair base in the port of Salman, Bahrain, in 1935, but relinquished it to the U.S. in 1971 when Bahrain gained independence.