Iran has launched drone attacks against a US military base in Bahrain, casting further doubt on peace talks between Tehran and Washington and raising the spectre of escalation.
Blasts sounded over the Gulf nation 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 advanced against pro-government forces in the south, opening a potential route to Aden. Iran also claimed that a mine sank an oil supertanker in the strait of Hormuz.
The developments deepened gloom about the chances of any diplomatic breakthrough in the region.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said they launched six drones targeting a US air defence radar at the Al-Rifaa helicopter base in retaliation for “hostile US actions”. Authorities in Bahrain said air defences intercepted the drones before they reached their targets.
At a press conference in Tehran the foreign ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baghaei, said Iran would continue to respond to any military aggression by the US or other states. Asked if the latest strikes indicated a change in Iranian direction as negotiations with the US have stalled, he said Iran was “not waiting for anyone” and was focused on its security.
US forces have conducted a series of strikes against Iranian targets in recent weeks, including Qeshm Island in the strait of Hormuz.
Donald Trump last week called them minor strikes and said Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states had cautioned him against large-scale combat operations.
However, the president also said Washington was no longer seeking a deal with Iran and that he had instructed the vice-president, JD Vance, to switch his focus to alleged corruption and fraud in Democrat-run cities and states.
Vance – who blamed the Republicans’ loss of Congress in midterm elections on the Iran war – had requested a personal meeting with Iranian negotiators to discuss peace terms.
A conflict that began with joint US and Israeli attacks against Iran in February remains at an impasse, with the US maintaining a naval blockade and Iran its chokehold over the strait of Hormuz.
In a separate development, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards claimed that two ships hit mines in the strait of Hormuz and that one, an oil supertanker with 2m barrels of oil, sank. The ships suffered “massive explosions and fire”, said the statement.
There was no immediate independent verification. The US military recently claimed it had cleared all mines from main routes through the waterway.
The strikes against Bahrain suggested Iran has decided on a tit-for-tat response to US attacks.
Bahrain hosts significant US bases, including a forward base that was home to the US Fifth Fleet and US Naval Forces Central Command, operating as a central support hub for military operations in the Middle East.
Tehran repeatedly targeted the kingdom until September, when there was a lull in attacks. That ended on Friday when Iran launched drones against a US radar facility. US Central Command said it shot down two drones without any injury or damage.
The attacks on Sunday prompted sirens and alerts from Bahrain’s authorities urging residents to seek shelter.
“It’s exactly what I was hoping wouldn’t happen: Iranian attacks starting again, with all the worry and uncertainty that go with them,” resident Hayat Ibrahim, 65, told Agence France Presse.
Bahrain’s foreign ministry called the resumption of attacks “heinous aggression” and a flagrant 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 for settling scores 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 the Iranian-aligned Houthi rebels reeled when forces fighting on behalf of the Yemeni government retreated from the Bab el-Mandeb strait to defend Aden on the southern coast.
“The Southern Armed Forces announce the implementation of a redeployment operation for its forces from Dhubab Airport and the Bab el-Mandeb area, west of Taiz Governorate,” the main military force fighting for Yemen’s government in the south said in a statement.
The admission signalled the apparent failure of a six-week government counteroffensive to drive the Houthis from the mouth of the Red Sea to secure a key oil route.
A Houthi missile strike near Aden killed people and wounded 12 near Aden, AFP reported, citing military and government sources.
