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Four Bahrainis arrested for spying activities with Iran's IRGC
A fifth person who is at large abroad was identified in the espionage scheme
- PUBLISHED: Thu 12 Mar 2026, 7:40 AM
[Editor's Note: Follow Khaleej Times live blog amid US-Israel-Iran war for the latest regional developments.]
Three men and one woman were arrested in Bahrain for espionage activities with Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), as the US-Israel-Iran war enters its thirteenth day on Thursday, March 12.
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In a statement, the Gulf country's Ministry of Interior said that beside the four arrests, a fifth person, who is at large abroad, was identified in the spying scheme.
GCC countries have been targeted in multiple attacks by Iran since the war broke out on February 28, following US-Israeli strikes on the Islamic Republic that Israel called 'preemptive.' Iran says its attacks on Gulf states are in retaliation and only target American assets in the region.
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The apprehended individuals' espionage actitivites were carried out through "terrorist elements located in Iran", the Bahraini Ministry added in the statement.
It also shared photos of the four arrested Bahrainis and mentioned their names as follows:
Murtadha Hussain Awal (25 years old)
Ahmed Isa Al Haiki (34 years old)
Sarah Abdulnabi Marhoon (36 years old)
Elias Salman Mirza (22 years old)
The fifth person at large abroad is called Ali Mohammed Hassan Al Shaikh and he is 25 years old.
Investigations in the case revealed that the first arrested individual, acting on organisational instructions and with the assistance of others, used high-resolution photography equipment to photograph and record coordinates of vital and important locations in Bahrain. "This information was then transmitted via encrypted software to the IRGC," the Ministry said.
The four arrested were referred to the Bahraini Public Prosecution as part of legal proceedings taken against their spying activities.
In an earlier separate statement, Bahraini authorities said that six people were arrested for posting videos showing the aftermath of an Iranian attack on the Gulf country.
Yasmin Hussein is an Assistant Digital Editor who believes that every news story carries a human element. Her motto is 'get it first, but first get it right'.
