Iran claims strike on US radar in Bahrain
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has claimed to have destroyed a US early-warning radar installation in Bahrain in retaliation for an alleged airstrike.
In a statement carried by Iranian media on Friday, the IRGC said the attack was in retaliation for an alleged enemy airstrike on a telecommunications tower in Sirik, Iran's southern Hormozgan Province. The Guards claimed to have destroyed the radar, although neither the strike nor the reported damage has been independently verified. There was no immediate confirmation from the US military or Bahrain.
Escalating tensions
The incident comes amid continued tensions between Washington and Tehran, with peace negotiations stalled and fears persisting over a possible resumption of major US military operations. US President Donald Trump said on Monday that further military action against Iran did not appear necessary, expressing hope for a diplomatic breakthrough amid calls for restraint from Arab allies.
However, he warned that US forces remained 'locked and loaded' and ready to resume strikes if circumstances changed.
Regional dynamics
In a Truth Social post on Thursday, Trump declared that the US no longer needed a peace deal with Iran, claiming Washington controlled Iranian funds and the Strait of Hormuz. The US carried out limited airstrikes against Iranian air-defense positions on Qeshm Island on November 2 and 6. Media reports said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pressed Trump to launch a new offensive against Iran following the November 3 US midterm elections, but the president declined.
Mutual warnings
'No safe distance. No safe haven. No immunity,' he wrote on X.
Speaking to conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt on Thursday, Trump warned that Iran would 'not exist very long' if it killed a senior US official. The remarks followed reports that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had moved to a military base over alleged Iranian threats, which Tehran denied. Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, warned that US military bases involved in any renewed attack on Iran, including those in Europe, would be considered legitimate targets.
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