Kuwait city: The Persian Gulf region has been witnessing a series of Iranian strikes targeting US military sites in allied states since the conflict began on February 28. All concerned countries, including Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Jordan, host US bases and have faced repercussions from Iran's retaliatory actions. However, images and documentation of these strikes remain scarce due to strict governmental crackdowns on media and civilians capturing or sharing such information. According to France24.com, Gulf states have used the ongoing conflict as a justification to increase restrictions on freedom of expression, arresting more than 1,000 individuals across these US-allied nations. Mahmoud Shalaby, a regional researcher at Amnesty International, highlighted that these nations have issued warnings against filming or sharing visuals of Iranian attacks. Shalaby further explained that the crackdown includes severe penalties, such as imprisonment and stripping of citizens hip, as seen in Bahrain and Kuwait, where hundreds have faced legal actions or had their citizenship revoked. The Gulf governments have adopted a public narrative claiming the interception of Iranian strikes, despite evidence suggesting otherwise. Limited access to updated satellite imagery due to US restrictions has forced journalists to rely on alternate sources like European Sentinel-2 satellite services and imagery from Iranian and Chinese providers. These sources have contradicted several official claims, such as the interception assertions by the Bahraini government following an Iranian drone attack on June 10. The Gulf states' approach seems driven by a desire to maintain their image as secure regions, with some citizens voicing concerns about the presence of US military bases as a catalyst for these attacks. The concealment of attack impacts is also seen as a countermeasure to such criticisms. This strategy aligns with international practices, as investigations reveal that the Trump administration s imilarly withheld information about attacks on US bases in the Middle East.
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