Bahrain intercepts Iranian attacks on Sunday after its military said air defences had shot down several Iranian aerial attacks before they reached their targets, in the first such interceptions by the Gulf kingdom since September.
Bahrain’s Interior Ministry issued two alerts of potential threats on Sunday morning, urging residents to remain calm and proceed to the nearest safe location. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it had launched six drones at a United States air-defence radar at the Al-Rifaa helicopter base in Bahrain, in retaliation for what it called “hostile US actions”.
FAKTA
- What happened: Bahrain said on Sunday, 15 November 2026, that its air defences intercepted and destroyed several Iranian aerial attacks.
- The Iranian claim: The Revolutionary Guards said six drones targeted a US air-defence radar at the Al-Rifaa helicopter base in Bahrain, describing the operation as a second phase of its response to the United States.
- What is confirmed: Bahrain confirmed the interceptions and issued two public threat alerts, the first since September. Neither the US nor Bahrain has confirmed the Guards’ claim that a radar was hit.
- Where: Bahrain, home to the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet, in the Gulf.
- Context: The war between the United States and Israel on one side and Iran on the other is nearly nine months old, and diplomatic efforts to end it have yet to produce a breakthrough.
Bahrain intercepts Iranian attacks: the details so far
Bahrain’s military said its air defences had intercepted several Iranian aerial attacks before they reached their targets, accusing Tehran of continuing a “systematic hostile approach” towards the kingdom. The interceptions were the first by Bahraini air defences since September.
The Interior Ministry’s two alerts on Sunday morning were also the first such warnings since September. Residents were told to remain calm, move to the nearest safe location and follow official channels for updates. The ministry did not name the source of the threat in its alerts.
Manama, Bahrain. The Gulf kingdom hosts the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet and lies less than 300 kilometres from Iran’s southern coast.
A second Iranian claim in three days
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had attacked a US military base in Bahrain in retaliation for “hostile US actions”, according to Iran’s Fars news agency. Iranian state-run Press TV reported that the Guards had launched six drones targeting a US air-defence radar at the Al-Rifaa helicopter base. There was no immediate confirmation from US or Bahraini authorities of the radar claim.
The Guards also said the Strait of Hormuz was closed and warned that any further American action would be met with a harsher response, according to Iranian state media reports.
Two days earlier, on Friday, the Guards said they had attacked a US early-warning radar in Bahrain. The US military denied that claim, saying its forces had intercepted two Iranian drones headed for the kingdom and that there were no injuries or damage.
A war in a fragile lull
The war began on 28 February 2026 with US and Israeli strikes on Iran and subsequently spread across the region, with Tehran launching missile and drone attacks on US military bases in Gulf countries. Diplomatic efforts to end the almost nine-month conflict have yet to produce a breakthrough, with sporadic attacks continuing despite a broader lull in fighting between the US and Iran.
President Donald Trump has said in recent days that he might hold off from attacking Iran if the United States faces no new provocations from Tehran or the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, but that he would maintain a US naval blockade.
For more on the region, see Watan News’ Middle East coverage.
What happens next
It remains unclear whether the Guards’ latest claim caused any damage, and neither Washington nor Manama has yet given a detailed account of what was intercepted. The coming hours will show whether the exchange stays a war of claims and interceptions, or whether it marks a wider return to direct attacks on US bases in the Gulf.
