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As it is known, Bahrain hosts the Naval Support Activity Bahrain (NSA Bahrain) and the US Navy 5^th fleet headquarters. Literally located in the heart of the Gulf, the naval base and the headquarters are a key strategic asset for the US presence in the wider Middle East, as they permit the overlooking of the oil installations and trade routes, the support of the US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan and the fight against naval piracy in the Red and the Arabian Seas.

Moreover, the overthrow of the monarchy in Bahrain due to internal unrest could cause a chain reaction on neighbouring Gulf countries like Saudi Arabia. It is worth noting that neighbouring Iran is closely monitoring the events and is eager to take political and religious advantage of this new dynamic developing, which is related to the internal destabilization of regimes in order to play a leading role in the Arab - Muslim affairs. In this case, a possible overthrow of the monarchy in Bahrain could serve as springboard for Iranian ambitions that perceive Bahrain as the 14^th province of Iran particularly due to the Shiite religious link. Actually, over 70 percent of Bahrain’s population is Shiite.

What is certain is that the regimes in the region are awaken and are invited to "flirt" with the popular demands for political and economic reforms. At the same time, they have to recognize that the popular demands for reforms combined with the strong influence of Islam on the masses are denominators not only for the preservation of their popularity, but also of their very survival.