Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said on Sunday it had targeted a US air defence radar installation in Bahrain with six drones, prompting security alerts across the Gulf kingdom amid renewed tensions between Tehran and Washington.
Reuters reported on November 15 that Bahrain’s Interior Ministry issued two security warnings early Sunday, urging residents to remain calm and move to the nearest safe location. The ministry did not specify the nature of the potential threat, and neither Bahraini nor US authorities immediately confirmed the reported Iranian attack.
In a statement carried by Iranian state media, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said its Aerospace Force had targeted the US radar system at the Al-Riffa helicopter base using six unmanned aerial vehicles. The Guards described the operation as the second phase of their retaliation for recent US military actions.
The IRGC claimed the drones had successfully struck their targets, adding that explosions were heard in different parts of Bahrain. However, it provided no details about possible damage or casualties, and the claim had not been independently verified.
The latest announcement follows a similar incident on Friday, when Iran claimed to have destroyed a US early-warning radar system in Bahrain in retaliation for an alleged American attack on a telecommunications tower in Sirik, in Iran’s southern Hormozgan province.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) rejected that claim, saying American forces had intercepted two Iranian one-way attack drones heading towards Bahrain. It reported no injuries or damage.
Bahrain hosts the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet, making the kingdom a strategically important location for American military operations in the Gulf. The latest reported incident comes amid continuing tensions over the Strait of Hormuz, a vital international shipping route for oil and gas exports.
The IRGC also claimed that US efforts to facilitate the movement of oil tankers through the Persian Gulf had failed and reiterated that the Strait of Hormuz remained closed. It warned that any further US military action would trigger a stronger response.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday that Washington was facilitating the passage of between 13 million and 14 million barrels of oil from the region each night, according to the Iranian report.
The confrontation comes amid a wider conflict that began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28. Subsequent Iranian missile and drone attacks, restrictions on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and a US naval blockade of Iranian ports have increased pressure on regional security and global energy supplies.
