Gulf states arrest dozens over alleged Iran-linked terror cells

Gulf governments are turning the war with Iran into a domestic security campaign, arresting dozens of people over alleged terror cells and widening the net around Shiite citizens and dissent. Bahrain said it detained 41 people on May 9 over a group linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Kuwait announced four more arrests on May 13, and the UAE said it had dismantled a terrorist organization in April, all in a climate where the evidence threshold for sweeping accusations appears to be falling.

In Bahrain, authorities said legal proceedings were under way against the 41 detainees. The arrests followed earlier spring detentions tied to alleged IRGC spying and came after the government stripped citizenship from 69 people in late April, saying they sympathized with Iran and “colluded with foreign entities.” The Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy called that move dangerous and a violation of international law. Bahrain also escalated its use of the courts: on April 28, a court sentenced five people to life imprisonment in two cases involving alleged ties to an IRGC-linked intelligence network, while one defendant was acquitted and two Afghan nationals were ordered deported after serving their sentences.

Kuwait framed its latest case in similarly stark terms. The Interior Ministry said four suspects admitted belonging to the IRGC and were tasked with infiltrating Bubiyan Island by sea to carry out hostile acts. Officials said one serviceman was wounded and two suspects fled. The case adds to a long record of security prosecutions in Kuwait, including the al-Abdali case, in which courts convicted 21 Shiites on charges of forming a terrorist cell tied to Iran and Hezbollah. Kuwait has also kept an emergency plan ready to evacuate its citizens from Iran amid the regional escalation.

The UAE has presented the conflict in military and counterterror terms. Its State Security Department said on April 20 that it had dismantled a terrorist organization and arrested its members over covert activities aimed at undermining national unity and stability. The military said air defenses engaged 17 ballistic missiles and 35 UAVs launched from Iran on April 8, bringing the cumulative total since the attacks began to 537 ballistic missiles, 26 cruise missiles and 2,256 UAVs intercepted.

Taken together, the arrests point to a wider Gulf alignment against Iran, reinforced by the March 26 joint statement from the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Jordan condemning “blatant Iranian attacks.” But the domestic cost is growing clearer. As governments invoke sovereignty and security, rights groups warn that collective suspicion is hardening sectarian politics and giving cover for deeper authoritarianism across Gulf states allied with Washington.