US Middle East ally strips citizenship from 69 in crackdown on pro-Iran support

By Fox News · Fox News

Bahrain stripped citizenship from dozens of nationals Monday after accusing them of promoting pro- Iran sentiment online, marking the latest use of a controversial law that allows the government to revoke nationality for security concerns. The interior ministry said 69 people — including some relatives of those accused — lost their citizenship for allegedly "glorifying" hostile Iranian actions and maintaining ties with foreign entities. Bahrain said the revocations were carried out under Article 10(3) of its nationality law, which allows authorities to strip citizenship from individuals deemed to have harmed the kingdom’s interests or violated their duty of loyalty. Officials said those targeted — along with some of their family members — were all of non-Bahraini origin, a category that typically includes naturalized citizens rather than native-born nationals. The move follows a directive issued days earlier by Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, who ordered officials to act against those who "betrayed the nation" or undermined its security and stability, including reviewing whether individuals should retain their citizenship. The Kingdom of Bahrain Tuesday sentenced five people to life in prison and 25 more to 10 years on charges of spying for Iran. The prosecution said 25 others were separately sentenced to 10 years each for supporting Iran’s "terrorist acts" in Bahrain. US EMBASSIES IN BAHRAIN, EGYPT ISSUE WARNINGS AS IRAN THREATENS UNIVERSITIES ACROSS MIDDLE EAST The decision comes as Bahrain grapples with fallout from Iran’s recent missile and drone strikes across the Gulf, including attacks on U.S. military assets in the kingdom. Officials have cast the citizenship revocations as a national security measure aimed at suppressing domestic support for Iran and cutting off suspected ties to foreign networks. STRANDED AMERICAN IN BAHRAIN RECOUNTS SURVIVING REPORTED IRANIAN STRIKE ON HIGH-RISE BUILDING, PLEADS FOR HELP Relations between Bahrain and Iran long h…