Bahrain Sentences Three Over Iran Ties

A court in Bahrain has sentenced three people to life imprisonment for collaborating with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.

Since the beginning of the recent Middle East conflict, Bahrain has been taking strict security actions against people or groups it believes support Iran, have links to Iranian networks and express sympathy for its military actions.

The kingdom, which is ruled by a Sunni Muslim dynasty, has a large Shia population that has long complained of marginalisation.

The country’s public prosecution, in a statement, said a woman “accused of… collaborating with the Iranian Revolutionary Guards terrorist organisation, with the intention of carrying out hostile terrorist acts” was sentenced to life imprisonment.

It added that two other people, one of whom fled to Iran, also received life sentences and a 10,000 dinar fine ($26,487) on similar charges. In a separate case, the court sentenced 10 defendants to prison terms of up to 10 years, with three of them to be deported after serving their sentences.

They were sentenced for supporting Iran, filming in prohibited locations and disseminating banned statements. The prosecution further revealed that another 11 people were sentenced to up to five years in jail and a fine for “violence and sabotage committed during the Iranian attacks on the Kingdom of Bahrain in March 2026

Other Gulf countries, including Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, are also cracking down on Iran-linked networks.

AFP reported that Bahraini authorities have arrested more than 300 mostly Shia Muslims since the war began, according to Bahraini activists, some of them accused of espionage or ties to the Revolutionary Guards.

The Gulf country has, however, denied cracking down on citizens based on their religious identity.

Bahrain’s interior ministry said security services had dismantled an organisation accused of links to Iran’s Guards and arrested 41 of its suspected members on May 9, 2026.

Bahrain’s parliament expelled three MPs who opposed a royal decree abolishing the right of appeal against government decisions on nationality on May  7, 2026, after 69 people were stripped of citizenship for supporting Iran during the war.