Tehran, Sep 6 (IANS): Iranian Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi and his Bahraini counterpart, Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, have highlighted the necessity to continue political talks between the two countries.

In a phone call, the Bahraini Foreign Minister congratulated Araghchi on his recent appointment as Iran's Foreign Minister and noted the significance of ties with Iran for his country, according to a statement released by the Iranian Foreign Ministry on Thursday.

Al Zayani also expressed his hope that bilateral political talks would be promoted during the new Iranian administration's term, Xinhua news agency reported.

Araghchi, for his part, said that expanding relations with neighbours was among the Iranian administration's main priorities, calling for the continuation of bilateral talks and discussions within the framework of the agreements between the two countries.

In late June, Iran and Bahrain announced in a joint statement that they had agreed to start talks on the resumption of bilateral political relations following an eight-year diplomatic freeze.

In 2016, Bahrain severed diplomatic relations with Iran following Saudi Arabia's decision to cut ties with Tehran.

The move came in response to attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran, which occurred after the execution of a Shia cleric by Saudi Arabia.

In March 2023, Saudi Arabia and Iran reached an agreement to restore diplomatic relations and reopen their embassies and missions.

The two countries formally declared in April of last year the resumption of diplomatic ties with immediate effect.