Kayhan newspaper, whose editor-in-chief is appointed by the previous supreme leader, has called for Bahrain to be annexed to Iran and for its ruling family to be tried and punished on April 16.

In a column by editor Hossein Shariatmadari, the hardline paper wrote that "Bahrain belongs to Iran" and that its people "speak Persian and want to be annexed to their original homeland."

The piece responded to a complaint lodged by Bahrain at the United Nations, accusing Iran of interfering in its internal affairs.

"First, Bahrain belongs to Iran, and its people consider themselves Iranian. They speak Persian and want to be annexed to their original homeland," the paper wrote.

"Second, the puppet rulers of Bahrain have given this Iranian island to America and the Zionist regime for a military attack on Iran. Therefore, in addition to being removed from power, they must be tried and punished," Kayhan added.

Arabic is the official and majority language of Bahrain; however, some 200,000 Bahrainis speak Persian in a local dialect as a native or primary language, according to previous studies. The proportion of the country’s native population is also Shi’ite Muslim, similar to Iran, Iraq and Azerbaijan.

Bahrain hosts the US Fifth Fleet and has served as a key logistical base during the US-Israeli war on Iran that began on February 28.

Iranian officials and state-aligned media have repeatedly accused Manama of allowing its territory to be used for strikes on Iran.

Kayhan is one of the most prominent hardline outlets in Iran and its columns are widely seen as reflecting views within the conservative establishment.

On April 14, in a letter to UN Secretary General António Guterres and President of the UN Security Council Jamal Fares Alrowaiei, Iran's Ambassador to the UN Saeed Iravani dismissed Bahrain’s claims as unfounded and misleading.

He said the US have unlawfully utilised the territories of Bahrain and other neighbouring states to launch attacks on Iran. Iran responded with several hundred airstrikes on Bahrain during the six weeks of war including targeting Bapco. 

Bahrain's total population is about 1.59mn (2024), with roughly 740,000 Bahraini nationals (citizens).