A change of command ceremony at Naval Support Activity Bahrain, home of the US Navy's Fifth Fleet. Photo: Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Dawson Roth, US Navy, via Wikimedia Commons. File photo — not a photo of Friday's events.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Friday it targeted a US early-warning radar in Bahrain, the first time since early September that Tehran has claimed an attack on American military assets in a Gulf country. The claim, carried by Iranian state media, could not be independently verified, and there was no immediate comment from Washington or Manama.
A "serious warning" from Tehran
The Guards said the strike was retaliation for what they described as an air attack on a telecommunications tower in Sirik, a port city in Iran's southern Hormozgan province. Iran's state news agency IRNA, citing official sources, reported on Thursday that Sirik had been hit by "enemy fire."
In a statement carried by the semi-official Tasnim news agency, the IRGC called the strike a "serious warning" to the "aggressor enemy" to stop what it described as a series of aerial provocations and oil smuggling in the Strait of Hormuz. "Should these violations and acts of aggression recur, the IRGC Aerospace Force stands in full readiness to engage without limits," the statement said. The IRGC-affiliated Fars news agency said the force had "targeted and destroyed" the radar installation.
Neither the strike on the radar nor any damage has been independently verified.
A fragile lull under strain
The claim comes amid a fragile lull in the war between Iran and the United States, which began on February 28 with US and Israeli strikes on Iran and has since spread across the region. Iran has launched missile and drone attacks on US bases in Gulf states and sought to restrict shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for global oil and gas supplies. Washington, in turn, imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports, which US Central Command says its forces are still strictly enforcing.
Tensions at sea have risen again this week. On Thursday, Iran's military said four oil tankers were hit by explosions in the Strait of Hormuz after ignoring warnings, and the British military reported at least two tankers struck by projectiles in recent days while crossing waters near Iran. Oil shipments through the strait have recovered to near prewar levels after Iran effectively choked the waterway for months.
Bahrain hosts the headquarters of the US Navy's Fifth Fleet, making any attack on American assets there a significant escalation in a conflict that has so far been fought largely at sea and in the air.
Diplomacy hangs in the balance
President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the United States did not need an agreement with Iran to end the war, and that he would not hesitate to launch new military strikes if necessary. He also said Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other Gulf countries had asked him to hold off on further large-scale attacks, while claiming he could destroy Iran's energy infrastructure, bridges and manufacturing facilities within three days.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, however, has said economic pressure on Iran is working well enough that resuming large-scale military operations is unnecessary. Trump has said he is prepared to return to war if the diplomatic track offered by Qatar fails to deliver a deal.
Iran's parliament speaker and lead negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, told Al Jazeera on Wednesday that the Strait of Hormuz would never go back to how it was before the war, and that "the ball is now in the American court."
Meanwhile, Israel's security cabinet has ordered the military to step up preparations for a possible attack on Iran, according to Israeli media including public broadcaster KAN. Iran's security chief Mohsen Rezaei has warned that if the US launches another war, every military base involved, anywhere from West Asia to Europe, would be a legitimate target for Iranian strikes.
Sources: Reuters, Al Jazeera.