Iraq on Friday denounced an "attack" by protesters on the embassy of Bahrain that prompted Manama to recall its ambassador from Baghdad.

On Thursday around 200 protesters upset by Manama's hosting of a US-led Middle East peace conference torched Israeli flags outside the Bahrain embassy in Baghdad and hoisted Iraqi and Palestinian flags.

It came after US President Donald Trump's advisor and son-in-law Jared Kushner earlier this week launched a Middle East peace initiative in the form of a $50 billion economic plan.

The Palestinian Authority boycotted the "Peace to Prosperity" workshop in Manama, accusing the unabashedly pro-Israel Trump of dangling the prospect of cash to try to impose political solutions and ignoring Israeli occupation.

Video footage of the Baghdad protests showed demonstrators chanting slogans supporting armed groups close to Iran -- which Bahrain has repeatedly accused of interferring in its internal affairs.

Iraqi security forces broke up the rally Thursday night as the interior ministry announced the arrest of 54 people accused of allegedly "attacking the (Bahraini) embassy".

Bahrain said it recalled its ambassador "for consultations" and held Baghdad responsible for its embassy security, a statement from the official Bahrain News Agency said late Thursday.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohammed Ali al-Hakim on Friday phoned his Bahraini counterpart Sheikh Khaled bin Ahmed Al-Khalifa to say Baghdad "condemns the attack".

Hakim also expressed hope that the incident would not "undermine diplomatic relations" between the two countries, the Iraqi foreign ministry said in a statement.

An Iraqi police official on Thursday said the protesters did not enter the embassy compound.

US deploys F-22 stealth fighters to Qatar amid Iran tensions
Washington (AFP) June 29, 2019 - The US has deployed F-22 stealth fighters to Qatar for the first time, its military said Friday, adding to a buildup of US forces in the Gulf amid tensions with Iran.

The Air Force F-22 Raptor stealth fighters have been deployed "to defend American forces and interests," the US Air Forces Central Military Command said in a statement that did not specify how many of the hi-tech planes had been sent.

A photo handout showed five of the jets flying above the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.

Tehran and Washington have been locked in an escalating standoff since US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from a multi-party 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and reimposed sanctions on the Islamic republic.

Tensions spiked last week when Iran shot down a US drone over sensitive Gulf waters following a series of tanker attacks that Washington blamed on Tehran, which has denied involvement.

Since then the arch-foes have been locked in a war of words, which escalated this week when Trump announced new sanctions against Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

Iran has threatened to abandon some of its commitments under the nuclear deal unless the remaining partners -- Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia -- help it circumvent US sanctions and especially sell its oil.

In May, the US Air Force deployed several nuclear-capable B-52 Stratofortress bombers to the Gulf in response to what the Defense Department described as a possible plan by Iran to attack American forces in the region, as well as an aircraft carrier task force.

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Bahrain recalls Iraq envoy over Baghdad embassy protest
Baghdad (AFP) June 27, 2019
Bahrain said Thursday it had recalled its envoy to Iraq after protesters upset by Manamas's hosting of an American Middle East peace conference torched its flag in Baghdad. Some 200 protesters also burned Israeli flags while hoisting the flags of Iraq and Palestine in a demonstration outside Bahrain's embassy in the Iraqi capital, a police official said. Iraqi security forces broke up the rally and protesters did not enter the embassy compound, the official said. But the government of Bahrai ... read more