Iran carries out second drone strike on US facilities in Bahrain in three days
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it launched six drones on Sunday at the US air defence radar facility at al-Riffa air base in Bahrain, the second such attempt against the kingdom in three days. Bahrain’s military said its air defences intercepted and destroyed the incoming attacks before they could achieve their objectives. Sirens sounded across the country as the interior ministry told residents to go to the nearest safe location, and the foreign ministry condemned what it called continued brutal Iranian attacks on Bahraini territory, holding Iran fully responsible for the consequences.
Friday’s drones were Bahrain’s first Iranian strike, and Iran’s first against Gulf countries, since September. The US military has denied an IRGC claim that Friday’s raid hit a US early warning radar, saying two one-way attack drones were launched toward Bahrain, both were shot down by US forces, and there were no injuries or damage.
The raids sit inside a US–Iran stand-off over the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world’s oil and gas usually passes. Shipping has been restricted since war broke out in February. Iran says it should control the strait and has attacked what it calls unauthorised traffic; the US Navy is escorting tankers so Gulf Arab exports can continue. In a Telegram statement carried by Iran’s state broadcaster, the IRGC declared the strait closed and vowed a harsher response to any American aggression.
Earlier this week the US struck Iran’s Qeshm Island in the strait, officials told CBS, describing limited, defensive action after the IRGC fired on a US aircraft. Iranian agency Irna reported explosions on Qeshm on Monday. The IRGC said it shot down two US MQM-170 drones south of the island and an MQ-9 east of the strait. A June preliminary deal to end the war and reopen the waterway collapsed within weeks after Iranian attacks on shipping resumed and Washington reinstated a naval blockade of Iranian ports. Iranian negotiators have discussed with mediators reopening the strait within two days if the United States meets seven conditions, including lifting that blockade and releasing frozen Iranian assets. This week Donald Trump said the US was no longer interested in a deal and told Vice-President JD Vance, who had been involved in restarting talks, to focus on domestic politics.
Continue in the app — vote & join in ➔