Bahrain MOI Reveals IRGC Links

Following the security measures taken in connection with uncovering the group linked to Wilayat al-Faqih and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, and the arrest of 41 members of the main group in Bahrain, in addition to 11 individuals located in Iran who served as the link between the Guard Corps and the group’s agents in Bahrain, the Interior Ministry stated that the group was based on members of the dissolved Islamic Scholars Council and their followers.

The ministry said the group’s members had formed and led a terrorist group, financed terrorism, spied for a foreign country, Iran, and terrorist organisations in Iraq and Lebanon, and received military training for that purpose.

The Interior Ministry explained that the group’s members practised organised terrorism against members of the Shia community in Bahrain, misled them, and carried out activities under a cover of secrecy. These secret activities included joining several religious, social, charitable, and educational institutions, such as kindergartens, schools, and religious seminaries, as well as key areas of community work. This was aimed at spreading a culture of loyalty to foreign entities, specifically the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and Wilayat al-Faqih, promoting hostility towards the state, disrespecting its laws at the expense of national loyalty, and influencing and undermining the national will of members of the Shia community in Bahrain.

The ministry stated that the group’s members worked to control and politicise the sermons of clerics and religious chanters in mosques, community centres (Maatems), and at religious occasions, relying on intimidation of those responsible for such activities. They also committed crimes and carried out practices that included terrorising citizens, collecting funds for unlawful purposes and engaging in acts that violate the law, causing harm to community security and civil peace, through receiving money from agents of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps in Iran to finance terrorism in Bahrain.

The Interior Ministry affirmed that these movements had been under monitoring and follow-up, and that the measures taken are aimed at protecting Bahrain’s security and preserving the safety and security of society in all its segments and components.

The ministry stressed that it will continue to confront anything that affects the security and stability of the nation, and to stand against anyone who seeks to undermine civil peace, spread sedition or create division within Bahrain’s unified society.