Iran Launches Drone Attack on US Base in Bahrain; Manama Says It Was Repelled

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Sunday that it had attacked a US military base in Bahrain, a Gulf island state allied with Washington. According to the IRGC, six drones struck a radar system at the Rifa helicopter base, south of the capital, Manama. Bahrain's Defence Ministry, however, said it had successfully repelled the Iranian drone attack. The incident marks a new escalation in a conflict that has run since the spring and remains unresolved.

Before the attack, Bahrain's Interior Ministry twice posted on the platform X that an alert had been triggered over a missile attack, urging residents to go to shelters.

Background

The attack came a few days after Iran struck Bahrain for the first time in about two months. In recent months, US forces have repeatedly hit radar installations and missile launch pads on Iran's coast. A few days ago there was also an attack on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz.

Israel and the United States launched a war against Iran in late February. In response, Iranian forces effectively blocked shipping through the Strait of Hormuz for an extended period through threats and attacks. For several months, the US Navy has been trying to restore oil and liquefied natural gas shipments through the strait by escorting civilian vessels.

US President Donald Trump has indicated that he does not want to return to large-scale combat operations. Even so, the conflict with Iran remains unresolved, and talks have been deadlocked for months.