Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which makes up around 83 percent of the country's landmass. Bahrain is situated between Qatar and the northeastern coast of Saudi Arabia, to which it is connected by the King Fahd Causeway. The population is 1,501,635 as of 2023, of whom 712,362 are Bahraini nationals and 789,273 are expatriates spanning 2,000 ethnicities. Bahrain spans some 760 square kilometres (290 sq mi) and is the third-smallest nation in Asia after the Maldives and Singapore. The capital and largest city is Manama.
In a chilling escalation, Hossein Shariatmadari — a top aide to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei — has warned that..
