Bahrain Mirror: The US State Department said in a statement that Washington decided to lift the holds on arms exports to the Bahrain Defense Force and National Guard.

The statement described the arms as "security assistance", indicating that the arms embargo followed Bahrain's crackdown on demonstrations in 2011.

News reports have expected the announcement of such a decision recently, as Saudi leaked cables disclosed that Saudi Arabia launched a vast diplomatic campaign on the international level to lift the arms embargo imposed on Bahrain by the US and other countries.

Washington justified its decision by saying that the government of Bahrain has made some meaningful progress on human rights reforms and reconciliation. It also claimed that the Bahraini government has implemented many key recommendations from the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) and has recently released a number of prisoners charged with crimes related to their political association and expression, further stating that these steps contribute to an environment more conducive to reconciliation and progress.

The US State Department; however, pointed out that Washington does not think that "the human rights situation in Bahrain is adequate," adding that its statement on the recent sentencing of Sheikh Ali Salman and the content of its recently-released Human Rights Report make clear.

Once again the US went on to describe Bahrain as "an important and long-standing ally on regional security issues, working closely with us on the counter-ISIL campaign and providing logistical and operational support for countering terrorism and maintaining freedom of navigation."

The State Department stressed that following the lift of these holds, Washington will continue to press Bahrain on its human rights concerns.

"As we have said many times both publicly and privately, we believe that making progress on these issues strengthens Bahrain and the region's stability and security," the statement read.

"All arms transfers to Bahrain will continue to undergo review under the US Conventional Arms Transfer Policy, as do arms transfers to any country," the statement further stressed.

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