Citizenship: what's happening and what it means

Bahrain has revoked the citizenship of 69 people accused of sympathies with Iran. Citizenship has emerged this Friday as one of the stories drawing attention in Kuwait.

Key facts

• Bahrain has revoked the citizenship of 69 people accused of sympathies with Iran.
• Bahrain has stripped dozens of people of their citizenship for allegedly supporting Iranian attacks on the country.
• Bahrain’s Ministry of Interior announced on Monday that it had revoked the citizenship of 69 people, some of whom were related, after accusing them of sympathising with Iran and “colluding with foreign entities”.
• Some Gulf states, trapped between Iran, Israel and the US in the current war, have started revoking the citizenship of locals considered "traitors." But is it about security — or a way to suppress political dissent?
• Bahraini authorities would eventually withdraw citizenship from close to 990 people.

What we know

Going deeper, Bahrain has stripped dozens of people of their citizenship for allegedly supporting Iranian attacks on the country.

On the substance, Bahrain’s Ministry of Interior announced on Monday that it had revoked the citizenship of 69 people, some of whom were related, after accusing them of sympathising with Iran and “colluding with foreign entities”.

Beyond the headlines, some Gulf states, trapped between Iran, Israel and the US in the current war, have started revoking the citizenship of locals considered "traitors." But is it about security — or a way to suppress political dissent?

More precisely, Bahraini authorities would eventually withdraw citizenship from close to 990 people.

It is worth noting that In March 2024, the Kuwaiti government launched a campaign to revoke citizenship and sources say it's highly likely that, since then, over 70,000 Kuwaitis have lost their nationality.

By the numbers

At this stage, the true number could be as high as 300,000 because dependents like wives, children or grandchildren also lose Kuwaiti citizenship.

On a related note, In mid-April, Kuwait issued another set of changes to its citizenship law and over 2,000 more people lost Kuwaiti nationality.

Going deeper, Kuwait's evolving nationality regime reveals how citizenship can be transformed... into a political instrument of control," the research network Global Citizenship Observatory wrote in aFebruary 2026 report on Kuwait.

On the substance, Another Gulf state, Oman, changed its citizenship laws in February 2025.

What they're saying

“Citizenship stripping in Kuwait has become a recurring tool to silence dissent,” said Falah Sayed, of MENA Rights Group, speaking to Middle East Eye.

“There are well-established international laws,” she added, “which prohibit depriving someone of their nationality arbitrarily, prohibit discrimination in the treatment of people, protect an individual from being rendered stateless and ensure that any decisions made need to follow due process”.

“Unfortunately, since the beginning of the war on Iran, the GCC[i] regimes have taken this as an opportunity to crack down even harder,” said activist Maryam al-Khawaja.

The wider context

On a related note, a 2022 study by the Global Citizenship Observatory and the Netherlands-based Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion, or ISI, found that in the two decades after the September 11, 2001, attacks in the US, "the use and scope of citizenship revocation on security grounds has expanded.

Going deeper, If you look at Bahrain, there was a spike in citizenship strippings post-2013, and then there was a lot of international pressure that the Bahraini government should right those wrongs," he explained.

On the substance, a similar measure was taken against 21 other people, inclu.

Beyond the headlines, a similar measure was taken against 21 other people, including two sisters.

More precisely, Today, my sisters and I have become part of the more than 50,000 Kuwaitis who have had their citizenship revoked,” Shihab-Eldin said in a statement issued on Wednesday by his legal team.

The bottom line

• Some Gulf states, trapped between Iran, Israel and the US in the current war, have started revoking the citizenship of locals considered "traitors." But is it about security — or a way to suppress political dissent?
• The true number could be as high as 300,000 because dependents like wives, children or grandchildren also lose Kuwaiti citizenship.
• A 2022 study by the Global Citizenship Observatory and the Netherlands-based Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion, or ISI, found that in the two decades after the September 11, 2001, attacks in the US, "the use and scope of citizenship revocation on security grounds has expanded.
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