Iran attacks Bahrain: Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it launched six drones at a US air defence radar system at Bahrain’s Riffa Air Base on Sunday. Sirens sounded in Bahrain, and Bahrain’s Ministry of Interior told residents to “remain calm” and “proceed to the nearest safe location”.
The Bahrain Defence Force said its air defence systems thwarted several Iranian aerial attacks. Bahrain’s Ministry of Interior issued two alerts within about three hours, including one about 4:30am (01:30 GMT), and warned of a “potential threat”.
Riffa Air Base and Manama
The claim matters because Bahrain hosts the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet in Manama, putting a Gulf base inside the same widening exchange that has already reached the Strait of Hormuz. The IRGC said the strike on Riffa Air Base was the second time in three days that it had targeted a US radar system in Bahrain.
On Friday, the IRGC said it destroyed a US early-warning radar system in Bahrain. CENTCOM denied that claim and said it had shot down two IRGC drones and there were no injuries or damage. That dispute now sits directly behind the Sunday claim, which has the same target but a larger drone count.
Mohammed Vall, an Al Jazeera reporter in Tehran, said on Saturday that there were “two similar incidents yesterday” and that the number of tankers hitting mines has increased. Vall also said Iran claims that the Strait of Hormuz is under its “full control” and that “only Iran and Oman have the right to control it”.
Strait of Hormuz claims
The IRGC’s navy said two oil tankers struck sea mines on Saturday while trying to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, and said two other tankers turned back towards the Gulf after receiving warnings from its maritime traffic control centre. The IRGC said the vessels had switched off their navigation and tracking systems and were using what it called an “unauthorised” route.
The IRGC also warned that any US attack would draw a more severe response. Tehran told the United Nations Security Council it would respond immediately to renewed US or Israeli attacks, while Bahrain called for the full implementation of Security Council Resolution 2817.
Security Council Resolution 2817 condemned Iranian attacks on Bahrain and other countries in the region and demanded they stop. For residents in Bahrain, the practical test is whether the Sunday alerts stay limited to warnings or are followed by another strike claim, another interception, or damage at Riffa Air Base that either side has not yet addressed.
