On July 10, the U.S. State Department has included al-Ashtar Briagades on its list of foreign terrorist organizations, stating that “the Department of State has designated al-Ashtar Brigades (AAB) – an Iran-backed terrorist group in Bahrain – as a Foreign Terrorist Organization under the Immigration and Nationality Act”. “Today’s designations seek to deny AAB the resources to plan and carry out terrorist attacks”, it said. The statement added that “all of its property and interests in property subject to U.S. jurisdiction are blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in any transactions with this organization. In addition, it is a crime to knowingly provide, or attempt or conspire to provide, material support or resources to the organization”.
This terrorist group is known as the “Islamic resistance organization in Bahrain”, a Shiite organization founded in late 2012. It follows the ideology of Iran’s Shirazi movement, which calls for a Shiite armed rebellion for the emergence of the absent Imam (the awaited Mahdi). Its name, Al-Ashtar, is attributed to Malik Ibn al-Harith al-Ashtar, one of the companions of Ali Ibn Abi Taleb. The organization receives financial support and weapons from Iran and the Iraqi Shiite groups linked to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, especially from Hezbollah Brigades. The organization is led by Ahmed Yousif Sarhan, known as (Abumuntadhir), and Jassim Ahmed Abdullah, known as (Thualfaqar), both of whom are Bahraini nationals. It is widely believed that both men are in Iran.
There are several factors that prompted the US State Department to designate the AAB as a terrorist organization, which are as follows:
Besieging Tehran
1- Applying pressure on the Iranian policy: The Trump administration seeks to ratchet up the financial pressures on Tehran, especially after the nuclear agreement was disavowed on May 8. The statement issued by the US State Department stressed that the designation is part of “a larger campaign to deter Iran’s malign behavior and stop its support for terrorists around the world”. In announcing these designations, the Coordinator for Counter-terrorism Nathan A. Sales emphasized that, “from Africa, Europe, North America, Asia, and the Gulf, Iran is using terrorist proxies to extend its malevolent influence and upend international peace and stability. Al-Ashtar is yet another in a long line of Iranian sponsored terrorists who kill on behalf of a corrupt regime”.
In March 2017, the US had included both Ahmed Hassan Yusuf and Sayed Morteza Majeed Ramadan on the list of global terrorists for their affiliation with the AAB and involvement in several operations, accusing the Iranian government of funding, arming and training members and cadres of the organization, especially that Iran is trying to undermine Bahrain’s security, even claiming its subordination to it, on the basis of a false claim that the "majority of its people are Shiite”, and hence requiring Tehran to move to dispute the loyalty of its population.
Manama’s Trust
2- Bolstering the US-Bahraini relationship: “Today’s designation serves notice that the United States sees plainly what Iran is trying to do to Bahrain through its proxy, the terrorist group Al-Ashtar”, Nathan A. Sales said. The Bahraini cabinet designated the group on March 4, 2014 as a terrorist organization, which staged several terrorist attacks against members of the country’s security forces. The AAB claimed responsibility for the March 2013 bombing, which killed three policemen, including a UAE officer, who was among the Peninsula Shield Force deployed in the second third of March 2011 to help Bahraini authorities maintain public order.
In a joint statement issued on July 8, 2017, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt announced that the AAB is a terrorist organization backed by Iran and Qatar, against the backdrop of cutting the four-nation ties with Doha. Manama welcomed this decision, as the leaders of the organization facilitate the travel of Bahrainis to receive military training on manufacturing explosive devices and the use of weapons, as part of working under the umbrella of the terrorist organization. “This step reflects the concern for the security and stability of the Kingdom of Bahrain as well as the depth of historical and strategic relations between the two countries”, the official Bahraini news agency reported.
Regional Partners
3- Strengthening understandings with the Anti-Terror Quartet: After this measure, the National Security Committee of the US House of Representatives, in one of its hearings last week to discuss the risk of the Muslim Brotherhood at the global level and the discussions concluded that all the Muslim Brotherhood’s organizations in various countries must be placed on the list of terrorist groups, especially since several key Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt have classified the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist group. Prior to that, the US designated Hassm (Decisiveness) and Liwaa al-Thawra (Revolution’s Brigade), associated with the Muslim Brotherhood, as terrorist groups.
London Intelligence
4- Coordination between the US and UK intelligence services: Designation by the US Department of State of the AAB as a terrorist organization followed the British parliament’s decision to approve a government resolution on December 22, 2017, listing seven Bahraini organizations on the list of terrorist groups, the British decision included al-Ashtar Brigades, Wa’ad Allah Brigades, Islamic Allah Brigades, Imam al-Mahdi Brigades, Saraya Al Mukhtar, al-Haydariyah Brigades, and Saraya al-Imam, a decision that was welcomed by the Kingdom of Bahrain, which was affected by the attempts of those groups to damage its internal security especially after the 2011 disorders.
In an official statement after the British designation of these organizations as terrorist groups, Bahrain stressed that “individuals belonging to these groups constitute a threat to the security and stability of the Kingdom, its citizens and residents, which calls for all measures to be taken to address them”, and called for “continued close cooperation between international partners to resolutely address terrorism in all its forms and sources, as the maintenance of international security requires the development of common strategic and operational orientations to achieve this goal”. Bahrain also urged the international community to “take the same responsible steps taken by the United Kingdom in the war on terror by classifying these groups as terrorist organizations”.
Cross-Border Terrorism
5- Mitigating the threats of cross-border terrorist groups: Borders between some countries have become so porous, in the aftermath of the 2011 revolutions and the ensuing conflicts, that terrorism has become one of the main threats to the security of the states of the region, including the Kingdom of Bahrain, one of the major allies of US. In the context of the protests in the Kingdom in 2011, several Shiite fighters teamed up to oppose the ruling family (Al Khalifa) and some groups funded by Iran, such as the AAb, Saraya Al Mukhtar and Popular Resistance Brigades joined the Bahraini-based Hezbollah to carry out terrorist operations at home and abroad.
The Bahraini security services succeeded in dismantling several terrorist cells during the past period (2015-2018), where terrorists were trained in Iraq and Iran on how to launch attacks, smuggle explosive devices to the country, assassinate prominent officials and target foreign embassies, which may affect American interests in the Gulf region in general and in Bahrain in particular. Although Washington’s interests have not faced immediate threats in recent years, it may be an inevitable target for Tehran-backed Shiite groups, especially after the souring relations between the US and Iran, and the sanctions that Washington imposed on Tehran following the withdrawal from the nuclear deal.
Besieging the Agents
In short, the designation of the AAB as a terrorist organization by the US State Department comes as part of Washington’s wider campaign to blockade Iranian agents in the region, to reach a sustainable solution to Iran-backed terrorism in Bahrain in particular, cut support for Bahraini fighters coming from training camps in Iraq and Iran, cease hostilities that threaten Bahrain’s security, which hosts the US Fifth Fleet, and prevent Bahraini unrest from spreading into the Shiite community in Saudi Arabia, as Tehran tries to target Saudi Arabia’s security in various ways and from different geographical areas. In other words, the US seeks to reassure its allies in the region that it stands with them against Iranian intervention in their affairs and that it will help them to avert any security threats coming from violent Shiite organizations or even Sunni extremist groups in the future.
