The senior U.S. diplomat for Middle Eastern affairs, Barbara Leaf, indicated on Tuesday that Bahrain is likely to resume relations with Iran "at some point soon."
Speaking about the possibility of Bahrain reestablishing diplomatic relations with Iran, Leaf, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, told lawmakers, "I believe this will happen at some point soon."
Bahrain severed its ties with Iran in 2016, a day after Saudi Arabia took similar action following attacks on the Saudi embassy in Tehran.
Protesters in predominantly Shia Iran attacked the Saudi embassy in response to Riyadh's execution of a prominent Shia cleric in 2016, leading the Sunni-majority Saudi Arabia to cut relations.
In March, Saudi Arabia and Iran agreed to resume diplomatic relations, and Iran reopened its embassy in Riyadh on June 6.
