Iran Says It Targeted US Fifth Fleet Facilities in Bahrain

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Wednesday that it had targeted US Fifth Fleet facilities in Bahrain, including command-and-control and logistics sites, fuel depots and military equipment storage facilities.

Tehran added that the attack was a response to US actions in the Indian Ocean and attempts to control the Strait of Hormuz and restrict shipping routes.

The Revolutionary Guards also warned that if Washington sought to block oil and gas exports from the region by controlling maritime routes, other export routes serving US and allied interests could also be closed. According to the Iranian statement, regional energy exports would either remain available to everyone or be available to no one.

Earlier on Wednesday, Bahrain’s Interior Ministry said air raid sirens had sounded across the country. It urged residents to remain calm and seek shelter.

US Central Command chief Brad Cooper said on Tuesday that Iran had deliberately attacked seven commercial vessels over the previous seven days. According to Cooper, nearly a dozen civilian crew members had been killed, wounded or remained missing as a result. The US strikes and the end of the ceasefire came in response to those incidents.

(Reuters, bak)