Archive photo: U.S. Navy ships moored in Manama, Bahrain, May 12, 2013. General U.S. military presence, not the radar site named in Iran’s claim. MC1 Michael Sandberg / U.S. Navy, public domain. Cropped and resized.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it targeted a U.S. air-defense radar at Al-Riffa helicopter base in Bahrain with six drones, according to a statement released Sunday morning and carried by Iranian state media. The claim does not establish that the radar was hit.
The IRGC described the operation as a second phase of its response to U.S. actions. State broadcaster Press TV reported the new statement separately from an earlier Iranian claim on Friday, making this a new account of a claimed operation rather than a repeat of that announcement.
Reuters also reported the six-drone claim, citing Iranian state television. The target, drone count and claimed success remain Iran’s assertions. The reviewed reports did not independently establish physical damage or casualties from the latest claimed operation, or a U.S. response to it.
Separately, Bahrain’s Interior Ministry urged citizens and residents to stay calm and go to the nearest safe location, according to Reuters. The ministry did not give further details about the threat. That warning does not confirm Iran’s account of the target or the outcome.
Bahrain hosts the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet, making developments there significant for American military operations in the Gulf.
JBizNews Desk | Manama
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