The plot is viewed as being the first overt attempt at undermining a Persian Gulf government with some measure of Iranian aid.
[3] The 1981 coup attempt in Bahrain was not only a localized effort but also part of a broader strategy by Iran to influence Shia-majority regions within the Gulf.
The Islamic Front for the Liberation of Bahrain (IFLB), which orchestrated the coup, was heavily influenced by transnational Shia networks established by Iranian clerics such as Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Taqi al-Modarresi.
[4] These networks aimed to strengthen Shia political activism and challenge Sunni-dominated ruling families in the region.
The coup attempt was a manifestation of Iran's longstanding claims over Bahrain and its efforts to export the revolutionary fervor following the 1979 Iranian Revolution.