Bahrain strips 69 of citizenship over ‘sympathy’ for Iran during war

Bahrain said Monday it had stripped 69 people of their citizenship, including family members, over what authorities described as expressing sympathy for and praising Iran during the recent war.

The Bahrain News Agency said citizenship was revoked from those who had "expressed sympathy and praise for Iran's hostile and criminal acts."

It added that the total number, including their families, had reached 69 people so far.

In March, Bahrain's High Criminal Court held its first hearing for people accused of "promoting and glorifying Iranian hostile terrorist acts," according to the agency, which did not specify the number of defendants.

The latest move comes after the US and Israel launched a joint offensive on Iran on Feb. 28, which retaliated with strikes on Israel and other regional countries hosting US assets.

The US-Israeli operations killed more than 3,300 people before Washington and Tehran announced a two-week ceasefire on April 8 mediated by Pakistan.

While originally scheduled to expire on April 22, US President Donald Trump announced an indefinite extension of the truce on April 21 at the request of Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and military chief Asim Munir.