As Iran relentlessly targets Gulf states with drones and missiles, governments across the region are moving aggressively to control the flow of information on social media.
As Iran relentlessly targets Gulf states with drones and missiles, governments across the region are moving aggressively to control the flow of information on social media.
Qatar's Interior Ministry announced Monday the arrest of 313 people of various nationalities for filming and sharing footage of Iranian attacks, spreading what authorities described as "misleading information and rumors." The arrests were carried out by the ministry's cybercrime unit.
Qatar is not alone. Bahrain detained four individuals for sharing videos of Iranian strike damage. Kuwait arrested three people for mocking the country's situation in a video.
The UAE sent mass SMS warnings to residents threatening legal action for sharing "sensitive images" or "unreliable information," while the Public Prosecutor's office explicitly banned filming or publishing footage of missile or drone impact sites. Saudi Arabia issued similar warnings.
Despite the crackdowns, images of missiles, drones and war damage continue to circulate freely on social media and in private group chats, underscoring the near-impossibility of controlling information flows in a live conflict.
Iran has been conducting daily attacks on airports, military bases, energy installations and residential areas across the Gulf region since the US-Israeli strikes that killed Supreme Leader Khamenei on February 28.
Russia has secretly helped Iran develop advanced supersonic cruise missiles, in what the Financial Times describes as one of the most significant known transfers of strategic military technology from Moscow to Tehran, according to an investigation published Wednesday.
NATO member Turkey would consider taking its relations with the China and Russia-led security bloc, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, to a higher level, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday.
The U.S. and Iran found themselves back in a war footing on Wednesday after the most significant exchange in weeks, with Washington threatening even more devastating strikes while Iran protested an attack that it said killed five and wounded dozens of civilians at a wedding.
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