Islamic Front for the Liberation of Bahrain coup plot (1981)
Bahraini security forces arrested 73 people accused of plotting to seize the Interior Ministry, the state broadcaster, and key installations on Bahrain's national day. The group, the Islamic Front for the Liberation of Bahrain, was founded in Iran by cleric Mohammad Taqi al-Modarresi after the 1979 revolution. Authorities said the plotters had trained in Iran and planned to install a clerical government.
The plotters were tried and sentenced to long prison terms. Bahrain expelled Iranian diplomats and accused Tehran of trying to export its revolution.
The episode set the template for how the Al Khalifa government frames every later Iran-linked case: Tehran using local Shia recruits to attack the monarchy.
The current prosecutions follow the same script: an Iran-based handler, Bahraini recruits, alleged surveillance of vital sites. The 1981 case is the reason that script is instantly believable inside Bahrain.
