Iran launched a drone attack against a US military base in Bahrain on Sunday, its second attempt to target the country in three days.
The country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it targeted the US air defence radar facility at al-Riffa air base in Bahrain using six drones.
Bahrain’s military said its air defence systems intercepted and destroyed the Iranian air attacks “before they could achieve their objectives”.
It comes after Iran fired drones at Bahrain on Friday, its first attack against Gulf countries since September.
The US and Iran are locked in a stand-off over the Strait of Hormuz. About a fifth of the world’s gas and oil supply usually flows through it but shipping has been restricted since the outbreak of war in February.
Iran insists that it should control the strait and has been attacking what it calls “unauthorised” traffic, while the US military is providing protection for tankers shuttling oil through the strait to keep exports flowing from Gulf Arab states.
As sirens sounded across Bahrain on Sunday the interior ministry called on citizens to head to their nearest safe location.
Bahrain’s foreign ministry said: “The Kingdom of Bahrain condemns in the strongest terms the continued brutal Iranian attacks on its territory and holds Iran fully responsible for their consequences.”
In a statement on the strikes shared by Iran’s state broadcaster on Telegram, the IRGC said: “The Strait of Hormuz is closed, and any aggression by the American enemy will be met with an even harsher and more forceful response.”
Earlier this week, the IRGC claimed that it struck a US early warning radar system in Bahrain on Friday.
The US military has denied the claim, stating that the IRGC launched two one-way attack drones towards Bahrain and both were shot down by US forces. It added that there were no injuries or damage.
Earlier in the week the US carried out strikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, US officials told CBS, the BBC’s US partner.
