Iran says it struck US radar in Bahrain as kingdom reports thwarted attacks
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it launched six drones at a US air defence radar at Bahrain’s Riffa Air Base on Sunday, describing the strike as retaliation for hostile US actions. The claim was carried by the IRGC-affiliated Fars News Agency. It was the second time in three days the IRGC said it had targeted a US radar in Bahrain: on Friday it claimed to have destroyed an early-warning radar there after what it called an air attack on a telecommunications tower in southern Iran. The US military’s Central Command denied that Friday claim, saying it had intercepted two IRGC drones with no injuries or damage. Washington has not commented on Sunday’s allegation.
Bahrain’s Defence Force said its air defences thwarted several Iranian aerial attacks on the kingdom. Sirens sounded on Sunday and the Interior Ministry issued two alerts within about three hours, the first around 4:30am local time (01:30 GMT), warning of a potential threat and urging residents to stay calm and go to the nearest safe location. Manama hosts the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet. A Pentagon inspector general report in September found Iranian attacks had damaged or destroyed buildings at US installations in eight countries, including Bahrain, in the first four months of the US-Israel war on Iran, which began on February 28.
The IRGC said the Strait of Hormuz remained closed, claimed US efforts to escort ships had failed, and warned that any US attack would draw a harsher response. Tasnim quoted it calling the operation a serious warning over aerial provocations and oil smuggling in the strait. Reuters noted Friday was the first such claimed attack on US military assets in a Gulf country since early September. Tehran has told the UN Security Council it would respond immediately to renewed US or Israeli attacks and has accused Bahrain and other Gulf states of supporting US operations; Bahrain has called for full implementation of Security Council Resolution 2817. The IRGC navy said two oil tankers hit sea mines on Saturday after switching off tracking and using an “unauthorised” route, while two others turned back after warnings. Al Jazeera’s Mohammed Vall reported similar incidents and said Iran claims only Iran and Oman may control the strait—a claim the United States rejects. Diplomatic talks remain stalled. Parliamentary speaker and negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Tehran had sent seven conditions via Qatar, including lifting the US naval blockade and sanctions, releasing frozen funds, ending hostilities and formally declaring the war over. President Donald Trump’s administration has tightened sanctions and kept the blockade on Iranian ports.
Continue in the app — vote & join in ➔