Abstract
In 1970, after a complex process and subject to some hidden developments in the approaches of the superpowers to the Second Pahlavi, the territory of Bahrain was separated from Iran. Contrary to the common practice and custom in other countries, the imperial government quickly recognized this independence and then established extensive political, economic and cultural relations with the Al Khalifah rule until 1979 and tried to strengthen it comprehensively. The purpose of this article is to examine the reasons for adopting this policy by the Second Pahlavi government and the nature and recognition of the assistance provided by Iran, relying on the library research method. In conclusion, it is concluded that the policy of the Iranian imperial government in strengthening the foundations of the Al Khalifa monarchy in Bahrain after independence was subject to a set of regional and trans-regional factors that directly and indirectly influenced the Pahlavi government, the most important of which were the developments in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman after the withdrawal of British forces in 1350 AH/1971 AD, Nixon's collective participation theory, and the selection of Iran as the main actor in this regional political and military transformation.
Keywords: Pahlavi II, Bahrain, Al Khalifa, Independence, Relations
 
Introduction
In the early 1950s/70s, Bahrain was a collection of small and large islands located in the southwestern part of the Persian Gulf, between Qatar and the coast of Arabia, which was only 30 miles away. The total area of Bahrain was 255 square miles and its population was about 216,000. More than 95% of the population of Bahrain was Muslim, divided into two groups: the majority Shia with 80% and the minority Sunni with less than 20%, mainly of the Maliki faith. The Sunni royal family of Al Khalifa ruled Bahrain with the support of the British. The Al Khalifa were a branch of the Utub tribe living in the Najd region of Arabia, who migrated to the Persian Gulf in the 17th century due to local conflicts and livelihood problems, and settled specifically in Qatar. Under the leadership of Ahmad bin Mohammed Al Khalifa and taking advantage of the power vacuum in Iran during the Zand dynasty, they invaded Bahrain in 1783, ending the authority of the Iranian rulers of the said family and gaining control over the archipelago. On November 2, 1961, with the beginning of the reign of Isa bin Salman (born 1933 - died 1999), the process of separation from Iran accelerated and eventually Bahrain gained independence during his reign. The comprehensive relations of the second Pahlavi government with him were one of the main factors in the continuation of Isa bin Salman's rule and the ability to govern the country during the critical stage of the transition from a British protectorate to an independent political unit. Isa bin Salman was the twelfth emir of the Al Khalifa family, who is considered the founder of the new Bahrain.
Materials & Methods
Based on the library method and by examining the documented and official sources of this period, including the press and internal publications of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, this article has tried to answer the following question:
- What were the relations of the Pahlavi II regime with the ruling family of this country after Bahrain's independence and why did the imperial government strengthen relations?
In the end, it is concluded that despite some protests in Iran against the sudden separation process of Bahrain, the Pahlavi II regime, following the argument of the peaceful nature of Iran's regional policy and avoiding future crises that would overshadow Tehran's new role in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, expanded comprehensive political, cultural, economic and financial relations with Bahrain. Due to the sensitivity and nature of the separation process, dozens of valuable books and articles have been written, translated, and various conferences have been held on the history of Bahrain's relations with Iran from ancient times to the contemporary era, with the aim of providing abundant documentation on Iran's legal sovereignty over this archipelago. These sources have only addressed the political process of Bahrain's separation from Iran, especially since the mid-1940s/1960s, and in a clear vacuum and deficiency, the developments after Bahrain's separation and the nature and type of relations between the second Pahlavi government and the Al Khalifa family have been left silent. The most important source for recognizing the strong ties between Iran and Bahrain between independence and the collapse of the imperial government in 1979 are the various publications of this period, including the newspapers Etelaat, Kayhan, Aindegan, Rastakhiz, and some military publications such as the Imperial Army. Another reliable source is the internal publications and bulletins of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at this time. Various departments under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Imperial Government, according to the usual tradition, published and presented annual written reports with the aim of further identifying the developments in the regions under their responsibility. This series of publications, under the titles of "Green Book of Countries", "Annual Foreign Relations of Iran" with various countries of the world and "News and Documents" were made available in small numbers to interested parties, especially members of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. For research on Iran's relations and foreign policy with Bahrain after independence, this collection of writings is considered a primary and documented source. During the Pahlavi era, the Ninth Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was responsible for supervising Iran's foreign relations with the Arab states of the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, and most of the material related to the developments in this region was published through the aforementioned department. "The Southern Territories of the Persian Gulf and the Sultanate of Oman" in 1971 and "The Relations of the Imperial Government with the Countries of Responsibility of the Ninth Political Department, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman, and Qatar in Fifty Years of the Pahlavi Empire" written in 1976 are examples of these works.In the archives of documents available in Iran, there are very important unpublished documents of the developments in Bahrain in the contemporary period. Especially the Pahlavi era. A large part of these documents, which are in the unclassified section and legal and classified documents in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, are of great importance.
As far as the author knows, the policy of Pahlavi II in strengthening the Al Khalifa family after the partition of Bahrain is one of the least known issues in the contemporary history of Iran and the Persian Gulf region, which has not been addressed so far, except for a few articles in the book "Iran's Role in the Persian Gulf" written by Mohammad Jafar Chamankar in 2017. This problem even exists in Latin and Arabic sources. As a result, this research can only be a chapter for better and more extensive studies.
Discussion & Result
The issue of Bahrain's separation from Iran was opposed by critical parties inside and outside Iran, including the Pan-Iranianists, the Third National Front, the Iranian Nation, and student organizations, who considered it a strategic mistake by the Iranian ruling apparatus. Nevertheless, officials and theorists of the second Pahlavi government considered it a rational policy. Supporters of Bahrain's cession presented the main reason for accepting Bahrain's separation from Iran as the illegitimacy of resorting to military force to resolve international problems and crises and the need to refer to the Security Council to resolve border disputes and contradictory claims of ownership and sovereignty. The Shah thought that by abandoning Bahrain, Tehran would gain influence among the moderate governments of the Arab world, especially the sheikhs of the Persian Gulf, and that by abandoning the claim of legal sovereignty over Bahrain and then developing comprehensive relations with the Al Khalifa family, it would deprive the radical Arab governments of any hostility towards Iran, and this would be taken away from them as a pretext for repeated attacks on Tehran's regional policy. From the perspective of the Pahlavi government, the issue of Bahrain's relationship with Iran was a fundamental issue that had to be analyzed in light of global developments, the stability of the Persian Gulf after Britain's withdrawal from the region in 1971, the power vacuum, and the new security role of the imperial government as one of the main foundations in implementing the Nixon Doctrine and its two-pillar policy. According to this official analysis, Bahrain was a scattered archipelago that lost its economic value due to the depletion of oil reserves and the end of the pearl trade era, and due to its distance from the coasts of Iran, it was not worth imposing risks and costs from hypothetical regional and trans-regional threats. In the end, it is concluded that despite some protests in Iran against the sudden separation process of Bahrain, the Pahlavi II regime, following the argument that Iran's regional policy was peaceful and avoiding future crises that would overshadow Tehran's new role in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, expanded comprehensive political, cultural, economic and financial relations with Bahrain.
Conclusion
The separation of Bahrain from Iran in the early 1950s was one of the most critical events in the contemporary history of Iran and the rule of Pahlavi II, the negative consequences of which continued in later periods. Bahrain's independence was widely criticized, especially among groups opposed to the imperial government, who considered it a betrayal of Iran's territorial integrity. However, the Pahlavi regime, despite the fact that the Shah was aware of the negative public opinion in Iran, put the development of relations with Bahrain and the comprehensive strengthening of the Al Khalifa monarchy on its agenda. Iran's efforts to consolidate the foundations of the Bahraini monarchy in this decade were influenced by a series of regional and trans-regional political, economic, and military factors. After the withdrawal of British forces from the Persian Gulf and the selection of Iran as one of the main pillars in the US two-pillar theory and the collective partnership policy of Nixon and Kissinger, the Shah considered himself obliged to ensure stability throughout the Persian Gulf, including Bahrain. According to the thoughts of the imperial government, the prominent Iranian presence as a result of the expansion of peaceful relations with the sheikhs south of the Strait of Hormuz created new opportunities for Iran to expand its deterrent power and prove its patriarchal role to the Western world and the small emirate of the Persian Gulf in a calmer international security environment, while countering the attacks of radical Arab regimes, looking beyond the 1950s/1970s. Accordingly, Iranian politicians considered the value of this role to be much greater than preserving Bahrain, which from their perspective was a small country lacking economic capabilities, energy reserves, or military strategic importance, and preserving or not cooperating with it could potentially or actually undermine the new role of the Pahlavi government. According to another analysis, strengthening the foundations of the Al Khalifa monarchy could, in addition to expanding economic exchanges, be a model for other Arab countries in the Persian Gulf in trusting Iran’s movements and developing relations. Iranian politicians also believed that developing relations with the Al Khalifa family could make Bahrain indebted and dependent on Iran, and while distancing them from the anti-Iranian policies of the hard-line Arabs, it would also increase Tehran's bargaining power in negotiations with other countries in the region, which is the same model that was adopted in relation to Oman. Frequent visits by political, economic, cultural and sports delegations from Iran and Bahrain were part of this approach of the Pahlavi II government towards the Manama government, which was accompanied by much criticism from opponents of Bahrain's independence. The comprehensive assistance of the imperial government was one of the most important factors in the continuation of the Al Khalifa monarchy after independence, despite political crises and problems caused by the decline in oil production in the country. However, future developments, including the discovery of gas reserves in the Al-Khawf area of Bahrain containing more than 263 billion cubic meters of natural gas, the growth of oil processing industries including refinery construction, petrochemicals, ship repair, aluminum industry, banking, and commercial and financial services, showed that the Pahlavi government's prediction about Bahrain's lack of economic and regional value was not based on a correct analysis. From a political perspective, by the end of the second Pahlavi period, Bahrain also became strongly inclined towards Saudi Arabia and was placed alongside other sheikhs south of the Strait of Hormuz in criticizing the return of the three islands, using the title of the Arabian Gulf, rejecting the Shah's security arrangements, and supporting the formation of the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council Especially the Pahlavi era.