Iran attacks Bahrain in 'blatant challenge' to peace push

Detailed summary

Bahrain was attacked by Iranian drones on Sunday, with emergency alerts sounding for the first time in months and sparking new fears of a return to war. The Bahraini military said…

Bahrain was attacked by Iranian drones on Sunday, with emergency alerts sounding for the first time in months and sparking new fears of a return to war.

The Bahraini military said it intercepted “several Iranian aerial attacks” early on Sunday. The alert was issued before 5am and urged people to find a “safe location”.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed responsibility for the attack. The IRGC said its Aerospace Force had fired six drones at a US air defence radar in Bahrain.

It claimed the attack on the Riffa airbase had a “precise and successful impact”. The Bahraini military, however, said the drones had been destroyed before reaching their targets,

Bahrain's neighbours condemned the attack. Jasem Al Budaiwi, the head of the Gulf Co-operation Council, called it a “blatant challenge” to regional peace efforts. Iran's “persistence in repeating its assaults” was a “direct threat” to the region, he said.

Qatar, one of the main countries acting as a mediator between the US and Iran, said the attacks were a “dangerous escalation”. It said they could “undermine political and diplomatic efforts” to restore stability in the Middle East.

It was the second time in a week that Iran claimed an attack on Bahrain, ending a lull in strikes across the Gulf.

The IRGC similarly claimed on Friday to have destroyed a US early warning radar in Bahrain, although US Central Command said it had intercepted the two drones launched by Iran.

The latest developments come as diplomatic efforts to end the conflict, which began with US and Israeli strikes in February, have yet to produce a breakthrough. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will visit Muscat on Tuesday for talks with his Omani counterpart.

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