Event of the Week (Saturday, 17 October 2026): Al-Zayani’s Meeting with Herzog in Azerbaijan — A Frenzied Rush into the “Israeli” Embrace
Political and opposition circles expressed outrage over the meeting between Bahrain’s Foreign Minister, Rashid Al-Zayani, and Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Wednesday, 14 October, in Azerbaijan, on the sidelines of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA), held in the capital, Baku.
Israeli sources, including Channel 15, described Al-Zayani’s meeting with Herzog as an “unusual” public encounter, citing the circumstances surrounding the meeting, Azerbaijan’s geographical location, and its immediate proximity to the Iranian border. Israeli reports viewed the meeting as a “politically significant message” regarding the regional alliances being led by Tel Aviv in its confrontation with the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Notably, Bahrain’s official news agency, the Bahrain News Agency (BNA), reported on the controversial meeting, stating that the two sides had “discussed opportunities to strengthen existing relations” within the framework of the Declaration in Support of Peace and the Abraham Accords. Observers regarded this as a sign of disregard for the broader Arab and Islamic public sentiment, which condemns the continued Israeli crimes in Gaza and the West Bank, as well as the ongoing attacks in southern Lebanon and Syria and the daily threats issued by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Why Didn’t Al-Zayani Leave the Hall While Herzog Was Delivering His Speech?!
The public meeting between Al-Zayani and Herzog came as no surprise to the people of Bahrain. Herzog had held a publicly announced telephone conversation with Bahrain’s ruler, Hamad, at the end of July, and had met him in Manama several years earlier. Al-Zayani had also visited Tel Aviv years ago, where he met the Israeli president at the time and held a joint press conference with him.
Meanwhile, most Bahraini citizens believe that the regime lacks both constitutional and popular legitimacy. The normalization agreement with Israel in September 2020 further entrenched this divide. Since then, the regime has become part of the “Israeli” project and has engaged in the various aggressive initiatives led by Israel under the direction of the United States.
This alignment became even more evident when the regime fully sided with the war of aggression against Iran and the Resistance Front. Ruler Hamad then insisted on consolidating this alignment by leading what the article describes as a campaign of persecution against Shiites in Bahrain, alongside the ongoing aggression.
As with Netanyahu’s address to the United Nations, Al-Zayani remained in his seat while Herzog delivered his speech at the Baku meeting, despite the withdrawal of most Arab and Islamic representatives. This sparked a wave of anger and condemnation among Gulf citizens and social media activists.
