Iran targets US radar in Bahrain as air defences report interceptions

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said it sent six drones towards a US air defence radar at Bahrain’s Al-Riffa helicopter base on Sunday 15 November, describing the attack as a response to US military action.

The Guard claimed the drones hit successfully, according to Iranian state broadcaster Press TV. Bahrain’s military, however, said its air defences intercepted and destroyed a number of Iranian aerial attacks before they reached their targets.

Bahrain did not say how many projectiles it intercepted or whether they were the six drones Iran said it had launched. The US military’s Central Command did not immediately comment on Sunday’s claim, the Associated Press reported.

Bahrain’s interior ministry issued two nationwide safety alerts, urging residents to remain calm, move to the nearest safe place and follow official channels. Bahrain hosts the headquarters of the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet.

The attack followed a separate incident on Friday, when the Revolutionary Guard claimed it had destroyed a US early-warning radar in Bahrain. US Central Command denied that claim, saying American forces had shot down two Iranian attack drones and that there were no injuries or damage. That US statement concerned Friday’s incident, not Sunday’s attack.

The strikes come amid a US-Iran stand-off over the Strait of Hormuz, a major route for oil and gas shipments. Shipping through the strait has been restricted since the war began in February, while the US military has been providing protection for tankers passing through it.