How the Iran War Revives the Dangerous Weaponization of Citizenship

The Iran war is not just a military conflict — it’s a cover for Gulf autocrats to wield citizenship as a blunt instrument of repression. Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, and the UAE are revoking the nationality of thousands, turning people into stateless pawns in a brutal game of political control.

Bahrain’s Sunni monarchy, ruling over a majority Shiite population, has ramped up arrests and citizenship revocations amid fears of Iranian influence. Former Bahraini MP Jawad Fairooz knows this tactic well. Stripped of his citizenship in 2012 after opposing government violence during the Arab Spring, Fairooz now warns the war has unleashed a new wave of statelessness targeting anyone deemed “disloyal” — including Sunni citizens of Persian descent, regardless of their actual views.

Kuwait’s crackdown is even more staggering. Since March 2024, estimates suggest over 70,000 Kuwaitis lost their nationality, potentially up to 300,000 when counting family members. That’s nearly one-fifth of the native population. The government’s recent citizenship law changes continue to deepen this purge, weaponizing nationality as a tool to silence dissent and consolidate power.

Other Gulf states follow suit. Oman’s vague laws allow citizenship withdrawal for “verbal or physical offenses” against the Sultanate, while the UAE reportedly revoked residency permits of Iranian expatriates under opaque security pretexts. Even Iran threatens to strip diaspora citizens cooperating with “hostile countries.”

This trend is not confined to the Middle East. The Trump administration pushed for denaturalization of hundreds of Americans deemed politically undesirable, and European countries like Germany have floated stripping dual nationals accused of extremism.

Experts warn this shift reflects a dangerous redefinition of citizenship — from a fundamental human right to a conditional privilege used to exclude and punish. This marks a grim return to tactics reminiscent of the darkest eras of statelessness, where governments weaponize nationality to crush opposition and silence minorities.

As the Iran war rages on, the human cost extends beyond battlefields. Citizenship, once a shield of belonging and rights, is now wielded as a weapon of exclusion, threatening the very fabric of democratic and human rights worldwide. We must call out and resist this authoritarian assault on identity and dignity.