Bahrain Court Sentences 9 to Life Over Terror Plot Linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard

Bahrain’s High Criminal Court has sentenced nine defendants to life imprisonment and two others to three years in jail after convicting them in two separate cases involving terrorism-related activities and espionage linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.

According to the Head of the Terror Crimes Prosecution, the defendants were accused of collaborating with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard with the intent to carry out hostile and terrorist acts against the Kingdom of Bahrain and harm its national interests. The court also ordered the confiscation of seized materials related to the cases.

Investigations conducted by the General Directorate of Criminal Investigation and Forensic Science revealed that, in the first case, a fugitive suspect allegedly working for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard recruited another defendant inside Bahrain to monitor and photograph vital and strategic facilities across the country. Authorities said the recruited defendant rented hotel rooms and apartments while carrying out surveillance operations and transmitted the collected information to the fugitive suspect abroad.

The investigations further uncovered the involvement of another defendant working in money exchange, financial transfers, and cryptocurrency transactions, who reportedly operated an office in Iran. Prosecutors stated that he used Bahraini and Iranian bank accounts to facilitate financial transfers linked to the operations, allegedly receiving Iranian toman funds from the fugitive suspect before converting and distributing them in Bahraini dinars to members involved in the scheme.

In the same case, two additional defendants were accused of repeatedly accompanying the suspect during surveillance missions to provide cover and avoid suspicion, despite being aware of the nature of the terrorist-related assignments.

In the second case, authorities said another fugitive suspect recruited an individual inside Bahrain to work on behalf of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in support of its alleged objectives against the Kingdom. The recruited defendant was tasked with monitoring a vital facility and gathering intelligence, in addition to identifying and recruiting local individuals to support the planned operations.

Prosecutors stated that the defendant later succeeded in recruiting four additional suspects, assigning them responsibilities involving the surveillance, photography, and collection of information on strategic sites in Bahrain before transmitting the data to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

The Public Prosecution emphasized that the investigations and evidence gathered led to the successful prosecution of the defendants, reaffirming Bahrain’s commitment to protecting national security and confronting threats targeting the country’s stability and interests.