Bahrain's Ministry of Interior has revoked the citizenship of 69 people, including some family members of accused individuals, for allegedly sympathising with Iranian missile and drone strikes on the kingdom and "colluding with foreign entities." The directive, issued under royal order from King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, cited a provision of Bahraini nationality law that allows citizenship to be stripped for acts deemed harmful to the country or disloyal to it. The Britain-based Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD) condemned the move as "the beginning of a dangerous era of repression," noting the decisions carried no right of appeal and that it was unclear whether those affected had been arrested or held another nationality — a concern given that statelessness could result. The revocations follow Iranian strikes on Gulf states, including a Navy base in Bahrain, launched in retaliation for US and Israeli attacks on Iran that began on 28 February; a ceasefire took effect on 9 April. BIRD noted this is the first such mass citizenship revocation in Bahrain since 2019, when a previous wave stripped at least 990 people of nationality between 2012 and that year.