Bahrain has moved aggressively to revoke the citizenship of dozens of people it says backed Iran online, using a nationality law tied to national security. The government says 69 people lost citizenship after being accused of “glorifying” hostile Iranian actions and of links to foreign groups. The decisions follow a royal order and come as the kingdom grapples with regional strikes that put U.S. forces and Gulf stability at risk.
The interior ministry announced that 69 people, including some relatives, were stripped of nationality for behavior officials described as harmful to state security. Authorities singled out individuals they said were posting praise for Iran or keeping ties with outside organizations that threaten Bahrain’s interests. This was framed as a security move, not a casual administrative step, and it targeted people of non-Bahraini origin who had obtained citizenship later in life.
Bahrain applied Article 10(3) of its nationality law, the clause that lets the state revoke citizenship when someone is found to have breached their duty of loyalty or damaged the kingdom’s interests. That provision has been controversial, but from a security perspective it gives the government a legal channel to act against what it calls foreign influence operations. The use of that article underlines how seriously officials view organized attempts to shift public sentiment toward Tehran.
The action followed a direct order from the king to move against those who had “betrayed the nation” or otherwise undermined security and stability. That level of political direction sent a clear signal that leadership sees this as an existential issue, not a routine law-enforcement matter. For many Gulf partners, including the United States, clarity and decisiveness in responding to perceived foreign meddling is welcome and necessary.
Court outcomes linked to the crackdown have been severe: authorities sentenced five people to life and handed 25 others 10-year terms on spying charges, while additional defendants received 10-year sentences for supporting Iran’s “terrorist acts” in Bahrain. Those penalties were presented as part of a coordinated effort to dismantle networks accused of espionage and operational support for outside actors. The scale of punishment underscores how the state is combining legal, judicial and administrative tools to shut down perceived threats.
The revocations also come after a string of missile and drone strikes in the Gulf that hit near U.S. military facilities, including the Fifth Fleet’s area of operations in Bahrain. From a Republican perspective, defending bases and personnel requires strong partners who will act decisively against proxies and influence campaigns. Bahrain’s moves are framed as protecting both national sovereignty and the security of allied forces stationed on its soil.
Authorities say they uncovered cells tied to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and arrested people for sharing videos of strikes, posting praise online, or communicating with foreign groups. The kingdom also pointed to a large Ajam community of Iranian descent as part of the social context in which these operations allegedly took hold. Regional governments worry that even well-meaning social media posts can be used to map sensitive sites or to fan unrest, so they have been quick to criminalize certain kinds of sharing.
This is part of a broader Gulf trend of tightening nationality rules and policing online behavior, with other states taking similarly hard lines. Kuwait, for example, has reported revoking nationality from many people since 2024, citing concerns that range from fraud to security. Rights groups have pushed back, and one advocacy director called Bahrain’s move “the beginning of a dangerous era of repression”, but proponents argue that when foreign powers are actively trying to influence domestic politics, harsh measures are sometimes the only effective deterrent.
