Iran claims strike on US base in Bahrain, kingdom says it intercepted aerial attacks

Bahrain's air defenses intercepted and destroyed multiple Iranian aerial attacks on its soil on Sunday, according to the kingdom's official statement. Tehran, however, claimed it had carried out an airstrike on a U.S. military base in Bahrain, amid ongoing uncertainty about a deal to end the ongoing U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.

This interception was the first of its kind by Bahraini air defenses since September, following two earlier warnings about potential threats. The Bahraini military urged residents to take shelter as a precaution. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) stated that it had carried out the attack on the U.S. base in retaliation for "hostile U.S. actions," as reported by Iran's Fars news agency.

The Bahraini military accused Tehran of maintaining a "systematic hostile approach" towards the kingdom. The Revolutionary Guards reported that they had launched six drones targeting U.S. air defense radar at the Al-Rifaa helicopter base in Bahrain, according to Iranian state-run Press TV. However, there was no immediate confirmation from either the U.S. or Bahraini authorities regarding these claims.

Two days prior, the Revolutionary Guards had also reported attacking a U.S. early-warning radar facility in Bahrain, but the U.S. military denied this, stating that they had intercepted two Iranian drones without causing any damage. Diplomatic efforts to resolve the nearly nine-month conflict have so far failed, with sporadic attacks continuing despite a broader lull in fighting between the U.S. and Iran.

The war erupted with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, and has since spread across the region, with Tehran launching missile and drone attacks on U.S. military bases in Gulf countries.