In the last two years, members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), namely Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Kuwait, have started a process of de-escalation with Iran. Saudi Arabia has held five rounds of talks with Tehran through the mediation of Iraq, while the UAE and Kuwait both returned their ambassadors to Iran after six years. Despite this, fellow GCC state Bahrain has shown no desire to start talks or even send signals concerning reconciliation. Why is Manama deviating from other GCC members in its unwillingness to reconcile with Tehran, and if Iran’s de-escalation pr…