Iran claims drone attack on US radar in Bahrain, Bahrain says air defences thwarted aerial attacks
The Bahrain Defence Force says its air defence systems thwarted several Iranian 'aerial attacks'.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says it has launched six drones at a US air defence radar system at Bahrain's Riffa Air Base in response to what it describes as hostile US actions.
Sirens sounded in Bahrain on Sunday as its Ministry of Interior urged residents to 'remain calm' and 'proceed to the nearest safe location'. It was the second time in three days that the IRGC claimed to have targeted a US radar system in Bahrain.
The US military said it intercepted two Iranian drones on Friday but has yet to comment on Sunday's claim.
The IRGC said it struck the radar at Bahrain's Riffa Air Base, according to a statement carried by the IRGC-affiliated Fars News Agency.
Bahrain's Interior Ministry issued two alerts within about three hours, the first about 4:30am (01:30 GMT). The ministry warned of a 'potential threat' and urged residents to seek shelter. It gave no further details about the threat.
The Bahrain Defence Force also said its air defence systems thwarted several Iranian 'aerial attacks' targeting the kingdom.
In its statement, the IRGC said the Strait of Hormuz remained closed and claimed that US efforts to escort ships through the waterway had failed. It warned that any US attack would draw a more severe response.
The IRGC said on Friday that it destroyed a US early-warning radar system in Bahrain in retaliation for what it described as an air attack on a telecommunications tower in southern Iran. The US military's Central Command (CENTCOM) denied the claim, saying it had shot down two IRGC drones and there were no injuries or damage.
In a statement carried by Iran's semiofficial Tasnim News Agency, the IRGC called the operation a 'serious warning' over what it described as aerial provocations and oil smuggling in the Strait of Hormuz.
Reuters reported that Friday marked the first time since early September that Iran had claimed an attack on US military assets in a Gulf country.
Tehran has told the United Nations Security Council it would respond immediately to renewed US or Israeli attacks and has accused Bahrain and other Gulf states of supporting US military operations. Bahrain has called for the full implementation of Security Council Resolution 2817, which condemned Iranian attacks on Bahrain and other countries in the region and demanded they stop.
Manama, Bahrain, is where the US Navy's Fifth Fleet is based. A Pentagon inspector general's report released in September found that Iranian attacks had damaged or destroyed buildings at US installations in eight countries, including Bahrain, in the first four months of the US-Israel war on Iran, which began on February 28.
