VIGIL CONSILIUMSearch
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Conflict coverage · Iran–Gulf

State actor

Bahrain

Bahrain is the smallest producer in the system and carries diplomatic weight out of proportion to its size. It hosts the United States Fifth Fleet and the Combined Maritime Forces, it drafted the Security Council resolution that condemned Iranian attacks on the Gulf states in March 2026 — submitted on behalf of the Gulf Cooperation Council and Jordan, and adopted with a record number of co-sponsors — and it held the Council presidency the following month. Its own territory was struck, its desalination capacity was targeted, and its exports were effectively halted during the strait closure.

Gulf Arab statesUS naval host · Gulf diplomatic drafterKingdom of Bahrain

Last reviewed
2026-09-04

AssessmentModerate confidence

Figures carry their own uncertainty. Population, economic and military-spending data in wartime are estimates, often contested; every figure below shows its as-of date and a confidence grade, and leadership positions reflect the last review date and change without notice.

193k b/d
Pre-war crude production
EST · AS OF 2026-02 · Confidence: High · The smallest producer in the EIA's Hormuz disruption table.
130k b/d
Estimated production shut in
EST · AS OF 2026-03 · Confidence: High
Drafted Security Council resolution 2817 (2026) on behalf of the GCC and Jordan; adopted 11 March 2026
Diplomatic role
EST · AS OF 2026-03-11 · Confidence: High
Exports described as effectively halted during the strait closure
Export status
EST · AS OF 2026-06 · Confidence: Moderate

The resolution Bahrain wrote

Resolution 2817 condemns Iranian attacks on Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan, affirms the Article 51 right of individual and collective self-defence, and condemns actions aimed at closing or obstructing navigation through the Strait of Hormuz or threatening maritime security at Bab el-Mandeb. Notably, it recalls resolution 552 of 1984 — the Council's own Tanker War precedent. It is not a Chapter VII resolution and it creates no sanctions or measures.

Hosting the maritime commands

Bahrain hosts the United States Fifth Fleet and the Combined Maritime Forces. Vigil records the existence of the basing arrangement as a publicly documented bilateral fact; the schema carries no facility, unit, capability or disposition detail, and none is added here. The arrangement is authored as a relationship in P2.

Struck, including its water

Bahraini desalination infrastructure was among the targets reported in March 2026, and Iran's army claimed drone strikes on Bahraini radar installations and an airbase on 1 September 2026. Vigil carries claimed strikes with their claimant named and does not treat a detailed claim as a verified physical outcome.

Elsewhere in Iran–Gulf

Economic profileAll Iran–Gulf profiles
Confidence: ModerateThe resolution and production figures are primary-sourced. Strike claims are attributed and unverified.Sources: UN Security Council and Panel of Experts reporting↗ · Congressional Research Service — Iran, the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz · Gulf state official government sources · Al Jazeera English↗MethodologyCorrectionsOpen in ExploreGovernment and offices (1) in Explore

Last reviewed2026-09-04

Related structure

5 records that Bahrain names, or that name it. Every one is an explicit reference in a published record — nothing here is inferred from subject matter.

Relationships

Standing relationships whose record names this actor as a party, with the type, status and validity the record states.

Forces and formations

Organisations this actor commands or sponsors, as named on its own record.

  • Bahrain Defence ForceThe smallest national military of the six, in the state that hosts the American naval command for the region — an arrangement in which the host's own forces are not the main military fact about the country.

Named in these events

Dated events whose record names this actor.

Logistics systems

Supply and export systems whose record names this actor.