Iran Claims Retaliatory Strike on US Early-Warning Radar Installation in Bahrain
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps stated on Friday that it targeted a United States early-warning radar facility in Bahrain in retaliation for what it described as an air attack on a telecommunications tower in southern Iran. According to Al Jazeera, Iranian state news agency IRNA reported hours earlier that the port city of Sirik in Hormozgan province had been hit by enemy fire on Thursday. The IRGC-affiliated Fars news agency asserted that the force's Aerospace division targeted and destroyed the military radar installation. Neither Washington nor Manama issued an immediate comment.
In an official statement published by the semi-official Tasnim news agency, the Revolutionary Guards characterized the action as a serious warning to adversary forces. The military statement demanded an immediate halt to aerial provocations and alleged oil smuggling operations across the Strait of Hormuz. The IRGC Aerospace Force declared that it remains at full operational readiness to engage without limits if further violations or attacks recur. According to Reuters, the incident represents the first instance since early September in which Iran has claimed a direct attack against US military assets in a Gulf nation. An Iranian ballistic missile struck an early-warning radar facility on Jabal ad Dukhan in Bahrain on June 11, 2026, damaging a radome, according to Associated Press.
Bahrain serves as a regional security hub, hosting the headquarters of the US Navy's Fifth Fleet at the Naval Support Activity base in Manama. The Fifth Fleet installation functions as the primary command center directing United States naval operations throughout the Middle East. During the opening hours of the regional conflict on February 28, the Manama naval base sustained strikes, with satellite imagery analyzed by Al Jazeera revealing direct hits on radar domes and base structures. Meanwhile, US Central Command stated that it routinely repositions military personnel and operational assets to optimize mission readiness across regional theatres. An August 28 report by Military Times estimated the damage to Naval Support Activity Bahrain from February 28, 2026 Iranian strikes at nearly $400 million. Before the war, Naval Support Activity Bahrain housed approximately 8,300 military personnel, civilian contractors, and dependents according to US Navy data.
News outlets reported that Washington has reduced troop deployments at select regional bases and ordered non-essential diplomatic personnel to depart as US leadership evaluates potential strikes on Iran. Israel's security cabinet has ordered the military to step up preparations for a possible attack on Iran, according to Israeli media, including the public broadcaster KAN.