Bahrain Mirror: The economic Business Standard magazine said that Bahrain is caught in the middle of a high-stakes game between its larger neighbours, Saudi Arabia and Iran.

The magazine considered that the tiny kingdom's Sunni monarchy depends on the support it receives from Riyadh and other oil-rich sheikhdoms in the Gulf for its survival but in return has become a proxy for their pan-regional feud with Iran.

Bahrain stripped citizenship from the spiritual leader of its majority Shi'ite Muslim population. That is a risky strategy. The public defenestration of Ayatollah Isa Qassim may have turned a mostly harmless thorn in the side of the ruling Khalifa family into a serious political crisis by inflaming sectarian tension.

Instability is bad for business in a tiny kingdom with dwindling resources and many regional competitors for foreign investment.

A big fear for the government will be the loss of appeal to investors.

Business Standard said the Saudi's attempts to diversify its economy away from oil, and Iran's re-emergence into the global financial system as sanctions are lifted, will create tensions that draw in neighbours like Bahrain.

"That is inevitable. Instead of taking sides in a messy proxy war though, the small Gulf trading enclave might be wiser to appease its own people and remain neutral - otherwise no matter which of side comes out on top, Bahrain could be a loser," the magazine further stated.

Arabic Version