Iran has launched drone attacks on a US military base in Bahrain, casting further doubt on peace talks between Tehran and Washington and raising the specter of escalation.
Explosions rang out in the Gulf country on Sunday in the second Iranian drone attack in three days in retaliation for US strikes in Iran.
Meanwhile, in Yemen, Iran’s Houthi allies have advanced against pro-government forces in the south, opening a potential route to Aden. Iran also claimed that a mine sank a supertanker in the Strait of Hormuz.
These developments have increased gloom over the chances of a diplomatic breakthrough in the region.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it launched six drones targeting a US air defense radar at the Al-Rifaa helicopter base in retaliation for “hostile US actions”. Bahraini authorities said air defenses intercepted the drones before they reached their targets.
At a news conference in Tehran, Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Iran would continue to respond to any military aggression by the United States or other states. Asked if the latest strikes indicated a change in Iranian leadership as negotiations with the United States stalled, he said Iran was “not waiting for anyone” and was focused on its security.
US forces have carried out a series of strikes against Iranian targets in recent weeks, including the island of Qeshm in the Strait of Hormuz.
Donald Trump last week called them minor strikes and said Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states had warned him against large-scale combat operations.
However, the president also said Washington was no longer seeking a deal with Iran and had asked Vice President JD Vance to focus on allegations of corruption and fraud in Democratic-led cities and states.
Vance – who blamed the Republican war in Iran for the Republican defeat in Congress in the midterm elections – had requested a personal meeting with Iranian negotiators to discuss the terms of peace.
A conflict that began with joint U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran in February remains in a stalemate, with the United States maintaining a naval blockade and Iran strangling the Strait of Hormuz.
In another development, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards claimed that two ships hit mines in the Strait of Hormuz and that one, a supertanker carrying 2 million barrels of oil, sank. The ships suffered “massive explosions and fires,” the statement said.
There was no immediate independent verification. The US military recently claimed to have cleared all major roads crossing the waterway.
The strikes against Bahrain suggest that Iran has decided to respond tit-for-tat to US attacks.
Bahrain is home to major U.S. bases, including a forward base that housed the U.S. Fifth Fleet and U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, functioning as a central support hub for military operations in the Middle East.
Tehran targeted the kingdom several times until September, when the attacks eased. That ended Friday when Iran launched drones against a U.S. radar installation. US Central Command said it shot down two drones without injury or damage.
Sunday’s attacks triggered sirens and alerts from Bahraini authorities, calling on residents to take shelter.
“This is exactly what I hoped to avoid: Iranian attacks are resuming, with all the worry and uncertainty that comes with them,” Hayat Ibrahim, 65, a resident, told Agence France Presse.
Bahrain’s Foreign Ministry called the renewed attacks a “heinous aggression” and a blatant violation of international law.
The kingdom rejected Tehran’s “flimsy pretexts and baseless claims” to target its territory, it said in a statement. “The kingdom also rejects the transformation of its territory into an arena of score-settling and holds Iran fully responsible for these attacks and their consequences.”
Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Qatar condemned the attacks and expressed solidarity with Bahrain.
In Yemen, Saudi Arabia’s campaign against Iran-aligned Houthi rebels was shaken when forces fighting on behalf of the Yemeni government withdrew from the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to defend Aden on the southern coast.
“The southern armed forces announce the implementation of a redeployment operation of their forces from Dhubab airport and the Bab el-Mandeb region, west of Taiz governorate,” the main military force fighting for the Yemeni government in the south said in a statement.
The admission signals the apparent failure of a six-week government counter-offensive aimed at driving the Houthis from the mouth of the Red Sea to secure a key oil route.
A Houthi missile strike near Aden killed people and injured 12 others near Aden, AFP reported, citing military and government sources.
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