Silence as Policy: How Gulf States Are Criminalizing Documentation of Iran's Attacks

Updated 12 March 2026 to include additional developments from Bahrain.

Since late February 2026, Israel and the United States have been waging a war on Iran that has fundamentally reshaped the region. Hundreds of Iranians have been killed, among them Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and senior security officials. Civilians were also among the victims, including 165 people reportedly killed when the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls' elementary school in Minab was struck during the initial wave of attacks, most of them students. Iran has responded with missile and drone strikes targeting Israel and has also launched attacks on what it describes as "American interests" across the Gulf, hitting airports, oil and military facilities, and residential buildings.

As the strikes continue, Gulf governments have moved quickly to control what their populations can see, share, or say about what is happening around them. Across Kuwait, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, and Saudi Arabia, authorities have issued warnings, made arrests, and invoked sweeping laws to clamp down on the filming and sharing or re-publishing of content related to the attacks. The measures affect civilians documenting what is happening in their own neighborhoods.

The justifications vary slightly by country. Some governments frame the restrictions as protecting operational security. Others cite the risk of panic or misinformation. A few invoke wartime provisions that explicitly increase criminal penalties for spreading information deemed harmful to the state. What is consistent across the region is the targeting of ordinary people with phones, not just journalists or activists, but residents trying to understand what is happening around them.

Kuwait

Kuwait’s Ministry of Information moved early to restrict media coverage, instructing outlets and individuals to draw information only from official sources and prohibiting the spread of rumors, unverified reports, or misleading content. The Ministry of Interior followed with enforcement action.

Three people were arrested after a video circulated showing them mocking Kuwait’s armed forces and air defense systems. The Interior Ministry stated the charges against them included broadcasting false news, harming national interests, and misuse of a mobile phone. The Public Prosecution invoked the State Security Law, which sets a minimum sentence of three years’ imprisonment for spreading rumors or false news that undermines national security.

Authorities have also restricted how security-related information can circulate. Residents are being directed to receive alerts through official channels, including air raid sirens and the government’s “Sahl” application, rather than through social media posts or shared videos.

United Arab Emirates

According to data from the Institute for National Security Studies, the UAE has experienced the highest number of Iranian missile and drone attacks among Arab states since the war began with approximately 1,268 incidents. That scale has not translated into more transparency. If anything, the legal and surveillance architecture already in place has been deployed more aggressively.

UAE law already criminalizes resharing misinformation even when someone is not the original source. Under the Federal Decree-Law No. 34 of 2021 on Combatting Rumors and Cybercrimes, simply forwarding a WhatsApp message, passing along a rumor, or filming and posting footage from the site of a drone attack can all expose a person to prosecution. Article 52 of the law sets a minimum sentence of one year in prison and a fine of AED 100,000 (around $27,000) for publishing or resharing false news or misleading content that contradicts official statements, with penalties doubling to two years and AED 200,000 (around $54,000) if the content incites public opinion, spreads panic, or harms public security or the national economy. Authorities issued explicit warnings against filming or sharing images and video from locations where projectiles or shrapnel had landed, stating that such content spreads panic and creates a distorted picture of what is actually happening.

Attorney General Dr. Hamad Saif Al Shamsi issued a statement noting that despite official warnings, some individuals continued to film and circulate footage from incident sites on social media platforms. He warned that sharing misleading clips or content generated using artificial intelligence to simulate missile strikes or attacks on infrastructure would be treated as a criminal offense and that the Public Prosecution would pursue violators without leniency.

The Public Prosecution also moved to geo-block a range of accounts and outlets, citing the cybercrime law. Among those blocked were Saudi news channel Arabia Breaking, fact-checking platform Misbar, UAE opposition figure Mariam Al Hammadi, and several Saudi media figures and analysts including Iyad Al Hamoud, Malik Al Ruqi, and Hisham Al Ghanam.

Content creators and social media influencers face particular exposure, with influencers in Dubai threatened with prison for posting material about the conflict. Since mandatory licensing rules came into effect on 1 February 2026, bloggers are legally classified as commercial entities in the UAE. Any content they post that is deemed harmful to national interests or the economy can result in license revocation and fines of up to AED 1 million (about $270,000). 

The effect is a layer of financial pressure on top of criminal liability, pushing influencers toward producing reassuring content that stays far from anything the state might find problematic. That pressure is already visible online, where videos captioned "you live in Dubai, aren't you scared?" followed by "no, because I know who protects us" have gone viral among Dubai-based creators.

Bahrain

Bahrain’s Defence Force issued a formal ban on filming, publishing, or resharing any images, videos, recordings, or information related to military sites, defensive operations, or the movement of military equipment and units. The ban draws on the Military Judiciary Law of 2002 and Article 135 of the Penal Code of 1976.

The order covers a wide scope. It applies to unverified information and fabricated content produced using modern technology, including deepfakes or AI-generated material related to attacks on Bahraini territory. It extends to anything that could endanger national security, facilitate strikes on military installations or critical infrastructure, or interfere with ongoing defensive operations. Violations are described as explicit breaches of applicable law and subject to legal prosecution.

On 6 March 2026, the Ministry of Interior announced the arrest of four people for filming and sharing footage of what it described as the "Iranian aggression," as well as for spreading false information. The ministry stated that those arrested had shared material showing the effects of attacks, expressed sympathy with Iran, and filmed military sites—acts it characterized as a betrayal of the country. It said the videos had been shared through their personal social media accounts and had contributed to misleading public opinion and spreading fear among citizens and residents.

The arrests linked to information sharing sit within a much broader wave of detentions. According to the Prisoners' Affairs Association of Bahrain, at least 114 people have been arrested to date in connection with recent developments, the majority in relation to rocket and missile fire or resulting damage, as well as for protesting against the strikes on Iran. Among the footage authorities have sought to suppress is a video that circulated widely appearing to show an intercepted missile striking a residential area, with injured civilians being taken to hospital.

Qatar

Qatar carried out one of the most striking enforcement actions in the region. On 9 March 2026, the Ministry of Interior announced that 313 people had been detained in connection with filming and circulating videos, spreading misleading information, and posting content likely to inflame public opinion. According to the ministry, all were detained for violating instructions issued by relevant authorities. 

The statement added that authorities would not hesitate to pursue legal action against anyone found to have committed such violations. Residents and citizens were directed to follow only official channels, such as the Government Communications Office, the Ministry of Defence, and the Ministry of Interior, for information about ongoing events.

Qatari law already makes resharing rumors or false news a criminal offense. Under a 2020 amendment to the Penal Code, the offense carries a sentence of up to five years’ imprisonment and a fine of up to QAR 100,000 (approximately $27,000), with penalties doubling if the offense is committed during wartime.

Oman

Oman’s Public Prosecution posted a statement on X calling on citizens and residents to refrain from filming, publishing, or sharing any videos, images, or information related to incidents, locations, or facilities or any content capable of disturbing public security or provoking fear within the community. The statement cited what authorities described as a growing volume of posts and interactions that violated the law and made clear that publishing or resharing rumors and unverified information would expose those responsible to accountability under Oman’s penal laws.

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Interior warned residents against circulating rumors or videos of unknown origin and directed them to use official sources. Filming or publishing footage of strikes or security incidents is treated as a violation of the Anti-Cybercrime Law. Under that framework, specifically Article 6, such material is viewed as publishing data on an information network in a manner likely to disturb public order, undermine security, or cause harm to the public interest. Violations of this article carry a penalty of up to five years in prison, a fine of up to SAR 3 million (approximately $800,000), or both.

The Bigger Problem

Gulf governments have publicly framed these measures as tools for preventing the spread of disinformation and avoiding being drawn into a wider war through the distortion of facts online. There is a real concern there — AI-altered footage, old videos recirculated as current, and deliberately misleading content are genuine problems during active conflicts. These governments are not wrong that such material exists and causes harm.

But the measures being used do not distinguish between disinformation and documentation. When Gulf governments issue blanket prohibitions on filming the aftermath of strikes, they are not just stopping bad actors from spreading fake footage. They are stopping residents and citizens from recording what is happening to their streets, their buildings, and their communities. Civilian documentation of harm during conflict is not incidental to accountability, it is often the only evidence that survives.

There is also a structural irony in the approach. Authorities warn that unverified footage feeds panic and distorts reality. What follows when authentic footage disappears is not calm and clarity. It is a vacuum, and that vacuum gets filled. Already, Israeli media outlets are reporting on drone attacks on American bases in the Gulf and on interceptions by air defense systems — the same information Gulf states are trying to suppress internally. Without raw, unedited footage to provide context, it becomes far easier for state-curated narratives, or malicious actors, to flood social media with a version of events that has no counterweight.

The criminalization of resharing is especially broad. In the UAE, forwarding a single WhatsApp message can constitute an offense. In Qatar, redistributing content deemed false carries a multi-year prison sentence that doubles in wartime. In Bahrain, someone who shares footage sympathetic to Iranian claims can be charged with treason. These are not narrow tools. They reach into private communications and hold ordinary people responsible for the information they pass along.

What Needs to Change

These governments have legitimate security concerns, and some restrictions on the publication of genuinely sensitive military information can be consistent with international norms. What cannot be accepted is the wholesale criminalization of civilian documentation. Skyline International for Human Rights calls on Gulf governments to take the following steps.

Narrow the scope of restrictions. Any prohibition on publishing content for security reasons must be specific, proportionate, and clearly defined. Blanket bans on filming or sharing anything related to ongoing conflict events go far beyond what is necessary and effectively eliminate the public’s right to witness and record events in their own country.

Repeal or reform laws that criminalize resharing. People who forward information online without malicious intent should not face criminal prosecution. Laws that hold individuals liable for content they did not originate, and that treat the act of passing along information as equivalent to producing disinformation, are incompatible with the right to free expression.

Release those detained for non-violent information sharing. The dozens — and in Qatar and Bahrain’s case, hundreds — of people arrested for filming or posting content should have their cases reviewed. Where the only allegation is that someone recorded or shared footage without any intent to spread dangerous falsehoods, detention is disproportionate.

Allow independent journalism to function. Geo-blocking news outlets and blocking media accounts because they report on events happening inside a country does not serve the public. It removes one of the few institutional checks on both state narratives and actual disinformation. Access to independent and international reporting must be protected, not restricted.

The right to access information and to document what is happening around you does not pause when missiles are falling. In many ways it matters more then. Governments that suppress civilian evidence in the name of managing the information environment are not protecting their populations. They are deciding what those populations are allowed to know.