Explosions and air-raid sirens rang out over Bahrain early Sunday as Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had attacked a U.S. military base in the Gulf nation — the second such claim against Bahrain in three days.
Explosions were heard around 4:00 a.m. local time (0100 GMT), an AFP journalist reported, with residents reporting a second series of blasts around 6:30 a.m. Bahrain’s interior ministry urged residents to remain calm and proceed to the nearest safe location.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said their Aerospace Force launched six drones at a U.S. air defense radar at the Al-Riffa helicopter base. “The US air defense radar system at the Al-Riffa helicopter base in Bahrain was targeted by six drones belonging to the IRGC Aerospace Force,” the Guards said in a statement carried by Iranian state broadcaster IRIB.
The Guards described the attack as retaliation for “hostile US actions” and warned: “The Strait of Hormuz is closed, and any aggression by the American enemy will be met with an even harsher and more forceful response.”
Bahrain’s defense forces said their air defense systems intercepted the attacks before they could achieve their objectives. The foreign ministry said air defense systems had shot down Iranian drones. Neither the United States nor Bahrain had confirmed any damage from the reported attack, and no casualties had been reported.
Second attack on Bahrain in three days
On Friday, the Revolutionary Guards said they had targeted a U.S. early-warning radar system in Bahrain. The U.S. military said it intercepted two Iranian drones, with no damage.
Sunday’s interceptions were the first time Bahrain’s air defense systems had carried out interceptions since September, according to reports.
A war now in its ninth month
Bahrain, which hosts the headquarters of the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet, is one of several Gulf countries that have borne the brunt of Tehran’s attacks during the war that began when the United States and Israel launched surprise attacks on Iran on February 28.
President Donald Trump has said in recent days that he might hold off from attacking Iran if the U.S. faces no new provocations from Tehran or the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, but that he would maintain a U.S. naval blockade, Reuters reported on Saturday.
On another front, the Saudi-led coalition said Sunday it had intercepted two Houthi ballistic missiles launched toward the Saudi capital, Riyadh, and three drones in the kingdom’s oil-rich Eastern Province.
Sources: AFP via Arab News; Reuters. This is a developing story.
