Iranian Claims to Bahrain: From Rhetoric to Interference

Abstract

The saga surrounding Iran’s potential nuclearisation is a reflection of a more nefarious set of strategies that range from the exportation of the Islamic revolution and the spread of a militant brand of Ithna-Ashriya (Twelver/Imami) Shia ideology to a more geopolitically-centred projection of Iranian influence along the Arabian Gulf littoral and into the Arabian Peninsula for the objective of harnessing Iranian power over its main regional rivals, Saudi Arabia and the other GCC states. This work focuses on a single flashpoint – Bahrain – which the Islamic Republic identifies as a gateway for achieving these ambitions. It presents and explores the main lines of argumentation deployed by the Islamic Republic in the long-attempt to extend its sovereignty over Bahrain and shows how such proclamations may produce violence on the ground.