Bahrain revoked citizenship from 69 people accused of supporting Iran, escalating a security crackdown after Iranian strikes in the Gulf.
Bahrain has revoked the citizenship of 69 people accused of supporting Iran and maintaining links to foreign entities, an escalation of the Gulf kingdom’s security crackdown after recent Iranian strikes in the region.
The Ministry of Interior announced the decision Monday, saying those affected had sympathized with or glorified Iranian attacks and had “colluded with foreign entities.” Officials said the order covered some related individuals and that all 69 were “of non-Bahraini origin,” a designation applied in the reporting to people generally understood to be naturalized rather than native-born citizens.
The move matters beyond the immediate number of cases because citizenship revocation is one of the harshest tools available to the state. Bahraini authorities framed the action as a national security measure under a law allowing nationality to be withdrawn from people deemed to have harmed the country or violated loyalty obligations. Rights advocates said the government had not shown that the people targeted received meaningful legal protections.
The London-based Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy said the individuals had not been publicly identified, and that it was unclear whether they had been detained, whether they were inside Bahrain or abroad, and whether they had any other nationality. Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, the group’s advocacy director, called the move “the beginning of a dangerous era of repression” and said the decisions were imposed without legal safeguards or a right of appeal.
The revocations followed a directive from King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa ordering officials to act against those accused of betraying the nation or undermining its security and stability, including by reviewing whether they should retain citizenship.
Bahrain’s action comes after Iran launched missile and drone strikes across Gulf states following attacks on Iran by Israel and the United States. The strikes reportedly damaged U.S. military sites in the region, including a Navy installation in Bahrain, which hosts the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet. Iran accused targeted countries of allowing U.S. strikes to be carried out from their territory.
Iran halted its attacks on Gulf neighbours on April 9 after a ceasefire brokered by Pakistan, according to the reporting, while negotiations to end the wider conflict remained underway weeks later. Bahrain and Iran have long had strained relations, and Bahraini officials have accused Tehran of backing militant networks and unrest inside the kingdom.
The citizenship decision also fits a broader campaign described by authorities as targeting Iran-backed influence operations. Officials have linked arrests and prosecutions to allegations that people shared videos of Iranian strikes, posted pro-Iran content or communicated with foreign groups. Separately, Bahrain sentenced five people to life in prison and 25 others to 10 years on charges connected to spying for Iran or supporting Iranian “terrorist acts,” according to the supplied reporting.
For now, the central unanswered questions are who the 69 people are, what legal process they received and whether any will be left stateless. Those details will determine how far the latest order reaches beyond Bahrain’s stated security rationale.
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