Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
by Leonid Tsukanov
[REGNUM] Recently, a group of unknown individuals calling themselves the "Bahrain Resistance" carried out a raid in the country. The attackers set fire to a police station in Manama, the kingdom's capital. Officially, the attack was timed to coincide with "another wave of repression" against Shiite clergy and activists and was presented as a response to increased government pressure on the community.
However, a number of indirect signs suggested it was more of a provocation: designed to further intimidate the ruling dynasty and force them to tighten the screws. And at the same time, to make them more willing to participate in military operations against Tehran.
UMBRELLA RESISTANCE
The Bahrain Resistance has been in existence for several years and, according to local journalists, has managed to take firm root in the kingdom's social and religious institutions. Relying on a network of influential and respected preachers, pro-Iranian forces have been able to create an umbrella structure in Bahrain that has allowed them to discreetly influence public sentiment.
However, until recently, Tehran was not inclined to use this instrument to the detriment of the region's monarchies, preferring to rely on diplomacy, including religious diplomacy.
It's also worth noting that the term "Bahraini Resistance" was coined by Western journalists and was never officially used by Iran's supporters. The Shiite underground fighters themselves preferred to use other names.
For example, at various times, the Al-Mukhtar Brigades and the Al-Ashtar Brigades, both pledging allegiance to Iran's Supreme Leader, operated in Bahrain. The groups occasionally collaborated under the auspices of the Tehran-led "Axis of Resistance," but never formed a common front.
The current protesters who attacked a police station in Manama used the Western name as a personal brand, and called the action the "first sign" of a larger campaign to restore the rights of the Shiite community. Meanwhile, official pro-Iranian groups distanced themselves from the incident and made no comment: the attackers appeared out of nowhere and vanished just as suddenly.
However, news of the emergence of a new threat was actively spread by Israeli and Western media, which presented the raid on the police station as the "starting point of terrorism" and predicted a quick civil war in Bahrain if the country did not deal with the "pro-Iranian agents."
Thus, Tehran's opponents decided to play on the growing fears of the ruling dynasty and thereby further distance Bahrain and other Arabian monarchies from Iran, making them afraid of subversive activities.
REPRESSION INTENSIFIES
However, even without the recent escalation, the situation of the Shiite community (which constitutes the majority in Bahrain), already far from ideal, is deteriorating from month to month.
With the start of the US and Israeli military operation against Iran in February 2026, the kingdom's authorities (the Sunni al-Khalifa dynasty) increased pressure on non-believers, branding them a "fifth column" and Iran's "intelligence network."
Under the guise of combating the "Iranian hybrid threat," the state has launched a campaign to purge "questionable foundations" and religious organizations created or led by Shiites. Furthermore, professional communities of theologians and interpreters of sacred texts have come under attack, including those previously considered untouchable.
The latest wave of arrests, the largest to date, occurred in early June. Bahraini security forces detained approximately 20 people on charges of subversive activities and ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Among those targeted were influential Shiite theologians and preachers Sayyid Yassin Musawi, Sheikh Ali al-Mustarish, Sheikh Ja'far Ashur, Sheikh Nazir Malik, and Sheikh Mahmoud Taheri. Unlike their predecessors, who were simply expelled from the Gulf on the "philosophers' ship" and stripped of their kingdom citizenship, all of them ended up in Bahraini special prisons.
According to investigators, this group of arrested theologians formed the core of the Iranian-created network and ensured coordination between various groups and movements within the kingdom. And possibly throughout the Arabian Peninsula, as Malik and Taheri had previously visited Saudi Arabia several times. In the fall of 2024, the kingdom's first pro-Iranian movement, the Islamic Resistance in the Land of the Two Holy Mosques, emerged, mimicking the Bahraini model in ideology and behavior.
It is also interesting that Bahraini security services are hunting from the top, detaining mainly public representatives of the Shiite community, while the search for the attackers on the Manama site, apparently, has not even begun.
VICIOUS CIRCLE
At the same time, despite the repression launched against Shiites, Bahrain still tries to distinguish between local activists and Iran, and therefore refrains as much as possible from further escalation with the Islamic Republic.
Thus, during a brief flare-up of tensions between Iran and Israel on June 7, Bahraini authorities demonstratively remained on the sidelines. The Kingdom did not place its troops on high alert, as Kuwait did, and later refused to grant Israel national airspace for a raid against Tehran.
At the same time, Bahraini elites have left room for potential friction with the Shiite community and appear to remain determined to escalate. Specifically, a royal decree issued in early June banned Bahraini Shiites from making pilgrimages to Iraq and Iran.
Officially, the ban was imposed under the pretext of concern for their safety "during a difficult period for the region." In reality, the ban was introduced to minimize potential contacts between Bahrainis and Iranian representatives in third countries. Furthermore, the authorities prohibited Bahraini Shiites from mourning the late Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei, during Ashura, a significant religious day commemorating Shiite martyrs. Those who violate the ban face serious consequences, including criminal prosecution.
This significantly increases discontent in local communities, in part because it undermines the interests and worldview of a significant portion of the kingdom's residents. This, in turn, creates the conditions for new rounds of escalation and even greater pressure on Shiites from the ruling dynasty.
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