TEHRAN -- Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheikh Khaled bin Ahmed al-Khalifa who had visited Tehran held talks on Tuesday with Saeed Jalili, Iran’s national security chief, and discussed the security situation in the region.

The two officials pointed to the threat that the Zionist regime poses to the Middle East region and called for closer security cooperation.
Jalili said that countering the Israeli threat should form the centerpiece of regional security cooperation, adding that efforts should be made to enhance regional defense capabilities.
Sheikh Khaled bin Ahmed al-Khalifa also called the Zionist regime a threat to regional stability.
At a separate meeting, the Bahraini foreign minister and his Iranian counterpart, Manouchehr Mottaki, called for the expansion of ties in political, economic, cultural, and security areas.
The Bahraini minister has visited Tehran to participate in Iran-Bahrain high economic commission meeting.
Mottaki said the joint economic committee lays the groundwork for implementing joint projects.
He pointed out that regional countries share common interests and concerns. He also said consolidating ties between regional countries serve the interests of the region as a whole.
The Bahraini foreign minister, for his part, called for expansion of bilateral relations and strengthening ties among other countries in the region as well.
The two foreign ministers also touched on the issue of dust storms, which frequently hit the two countries, and agreed to spearhead a regional meeting to discuss ways to put a brake on this environmental hazard