Iran targets US military base in Bahrain with drones

Iran has launched six drones in a targeted attack towards the US air defence radar facility in Bahrain, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said.

Bahrain’s military said its air defences destroyed the drones “before they could achieve their objectives”. The Interior Ministry urged people to head to the nearest safe location as sirens sounded across the country.

Bahrain's Foreign Ministry said the attacks violated international law and that no pretext can legitimise violations of state sovereignty.  “Bahrain also rejects the use of its territory to settle accounts and holds Iran fully responsible for the attacks and their consequences,” the statement added.

The attack on al-Riffa air base was Iran’s second attempt to strike Bahrain in three days. It came amid a dispute between Iran and the US over control of the shipping route out of the Gulf, which usually carries about a fifth of the world’s oil and gas supply.

Shipping through the strait has been restricted since the war began in February. Iran claims the right to control passage and has attacked vessels it says lack permission to cross. The US military is protecting tankers carrying oil from Gulf Arab states.

The IRGC claimed it hit a US early warning radar system in Bahrain on Friday. The US military disputed that account and said its forces shot down both drones fired towards Bahrain. It reported no injuries or damage.

Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei defended Tehran’s attacks and accused Gulf countries of aiding US strikes against Iran.

“All the cases that indicate the role of the countries of the region in helping the US to attack Iran have been documented,” Baghaei said at a news conference on Sunday, adding that Tehran was taking diplomatic action and would “follow up on this issue seriously."

The US and Iran reached a preliminary agreement in June to end the war and reopen the strait. It collapsed within weeks after Iran resumed attacks on shipping and the US reinstated its naval blockade of Iranian ports.

Iranian negotiators had since discussed a proposal to reopen the strait within two days if the US met seven conditions. These reportedly included lifting the blockade and releasing Iranian assets held abroad.

US President Donald Trump said this week that Washington was no longer interested in a deal to end the war. He directed Vice President JD Vance, who had been involved in efforts to restart talks, to focus on domestic politics.

Meanwhile, Jordan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates said in a post on X that it “condemned Iran’s brutal attacks on the sister kingdom of Bahrain as a flagrant violation of its sovereignty, a threat to its security, stability and territorial integrity”.

Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the country “reiterates its categorical rejection” of attacks threatening the region’s stability.

“The security of Bahrain and the Gulf states is closely linked to Egyptian national security and is one of the pillars of Arab national security,” the statement added.