Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa issued an edict on April 19 to begin reviewing the citizenship of those who might have links to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the first step in what might be a wider purge of the citizenship rolls. Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal reported the same day that Abu Dhabi was seeking a currency swap with the United States to ensure bank liquidity amid financial strain caused by the Iran war, although the United Arab Emirates' banks remain solvent and its sovereign wealth funds are flush at around $2.7 trillion in total assets.

Bahrain has previously purged Shiite citizens to suppress dissent, such as after the Arab Spring revolt in 2011. Kuwait has also been deepening a purge of citizenship rolls in the wake of the Iran war, with up to 50,000 people reportedly disenfranchised, many of them Shiites, since September 2024, according to activists. Meanwhile, no Gulf Cooperation Council country has had a direct currency swap with the United States. The United Arab Emirates will be exposed to long-term tourism, investment and transportation slumps if the regional security situation does not stabilize soon.