*Editor’s note: Last names have been removed from this piece for the protection and safety of the people involved.
Abdulla, 22, was driving through Bahrain on Saturday with a car full of friends when he realized his GPS had set his location to Israel. He input directions to a popular local mall into Google Maps only to find that it was 21 hours away instead of the usual 15 minutes.
“I was shocked,” Abdulla said. “My initial reaction was I couldn’t believe what was going on.”
His location, from his Snap Map to his Find My Phone, showed him to be in the heart of Tel Aviv. His map continued to show him in Israel for about five minutes before returning to normal.
Just hours later, the U.S. launched an airstrike on three of Iran’s nuclear bases, causing government offices and airspaces across the region to shut down.
Bahrain, an island country in the Persian Gulf that lies just between Iran and Israel, has been on high alert since tensions between the two countries escalated, but has not become involved in any conflict.
“Everything was peaceful,” Abdulla said. “No one expected any country in the Gulf to be attacked.”
Abdulla found himself reflecting on why his phone had effectively relocated his IP and changed its location. But he wasn’t the only one.
As tensions rise across the Middle East, many citizens are experiencing a spike in incorrect locations on their phone known as GPS jamming.
For some, this is not a new phenomenon. In fact, GPS jamming has become a warning sign of military action in the Middle East.
Bahraini native Hamad, 21, was in Jordan last June when he started receiving phone calls from friends asking why he was in Beirut Airport in Lebanon.
“I’d be in Jordan and then all of a sudden … my friends would call me,” he said. “They’d see my location in either Cairo or the Lebanese airport — I was not there physically, just virtually.”
Just like Abdulla, Hamad’s location changed just before times of conflict. Shortly after Hamad’s location moved to Beirut Israel began a series of strikes on southern Lebanon which started in late July 2024 and resulted in the assassination of Fuad Shukr, a Hezbollah commander.
Hamad also noticed location GPS changes prior to some of Hezbollah’s retaliations.
He says that when the same GPS jamming happened again while in Bahrain earlier this month — now showing his location in Iran instead — he “realized how serious it was getting in the Gulf.”
He said that when his location begins to change, he knows “something will go down.”
“I’ve seen it happen before and I’m not doubting that it [would] happen again.”
Live data from Flightradar24’s GPS jamming map showed “high interference” levels across the region within just hours of Iran’s strike on the U.S. base in Qatar on June 23.
About 970 ships experienced GPS signal interference between June 15 and 18, according to Interfax. This has led to route diversions, delays and navigation issues for shipping companies trying to operate through the Strait of Hormuz, which handles about 20% of global oil and gas transit.
Suzy is a local trader from Bahrain who relies on the Strait of Hormuz to receive her imports and stock. She says that the signal interference has affected her ability to receive her orders this week.
“We had shipments arriving, and they had contacted us and they told us that there might be a delay,” she said.
The same shipping company later emailed her again to let her know that there would be a delay of “at least three weeks,” even after the announcement of a truce.
“We had two ships affected, and we’re waiting to see [if] the third [will be delayed],” Suzy said.
She said that if the delays continue, the cost of her insurance will be “much higher.”
Other local business owners have faced issues with shipping delays, closure uncertainties and reduced customers due to fears surrounding leaving their homes.
The Ministry of Interior in Bahrain also called for a “reduced use” of main roads, urging people to only travel when “necessary.”
Even after the announcement of a truce between Iran and Israel on Tuesday, many continue to face issues with their location, with location jamming being reported as recently as Wednesday morning.