Iran Claims Strike on US Military Radar in Bahrain

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said Friday it had targeted a US early-warning radar installation in Bahrain, claiming the operation was retaliation for an airstrike on telecommunications infrastructure in southern Iran.

The IRGC said its aerospace forces carried out the attack following what it described as an enemy strike on a telecommunications tower in Sirik, a coastal area in Iran's Hormozgan province near the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian state media reported that the Guards claimed to have destroyed the radar installation, although the extent of any damage could not be independently verified.

Neither the United States nor Bahrain immediately commented on the Iranian claim.

According to Reuters, the announcement marks the first claimed Iranian attack on American military assets in a Gulf country since early September.

The IRGC also warned that further attacks on Iranian territory could trigger additional military responses.

Bahrain hosts the headquarters of the US Navy's Fifth Fleet, which oversees American naval operations across the Gulf and surrounding waters.

The latest claim comes amid a fragile lull in the conflict between Iran and the United States, which began with US and Israeli strikes on Iranian territory on February 28.

Since then, Iran has launched missile and drone attacks against US military facilities in Gulf countries and attempted to restrict maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

Washington has responded with a naval blockade of Iranian ports.

The strategic waterway remains a critical route for global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments.

No independently verified evidence of damage to the radar installation, casualties or the weapon used in the alleged strike was immediately available.