Dubai: Iran launched a drone assault targeting Bahrain while a ship in the Strait of Hormuz separately came under attack Saturday, likely Tehran’s response to overnight airstrikes by the United States.
The attacks across the Persian Gulf show the danger of the Iran war again spinning out of control, even after Iran and the US reached an interim deal to try to agree on a final accord to end the conflict.
The US had launched its airstrikes in response to an Iranian drone attack on a ship trying to get out of the strait on Thursday, continuing a string of attacks that have shaken the uneasy ceasefire in the war.
Meanwhile, a multinational maritime body overseen by the US Navy said Saturday that it would expand a route near Oman in the strait to allow for both inbound and outbound traffic – likely setting up a new flashpoint with Tehran.
Bahrain condemns Iran’s drone attack
That Iran targeted Bahrain was likely not coincidental. The kingdom has been one of the strongest critics of Iran and is home to the US Navy’s 5th Fleet. It just hosted US Secretary of State Marco Rubio for a meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council’s foreign ministers, which ended with a call for an end to Iran’s attacks and for the strait to be completely open.
A statement from Bahrain’s Foreign Ministry said a “number of Iranian drones” targeted the country. It called the attack “a flagrant threat to the security of citizens and residents.”
Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard earlier on Saturday issued a statement carried by the state-run IRNA news agency saying it had targeted several locations “of the US terrorist army in the region.”
It did not name what areas were targeted.
The ship comes under attack as the Strait Route expands
Meanwhile, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre said that a tanker was attacked Saturday in the strait, saying the crew was safe and no environmental damage was reported. No one immediately claimed the strike, but suspicion immediately fell on Iran.
Just after the report of the ship attack, the Joint Maritime Information Centre, overseen by the US Navy, said the route near Oman’s shores is expanding to allow for both inbound and outbound traffic.
Iran has insisted ships must obey its orders and is warning it will start charging fees for transit through the strait, through which a fifth of all oil and natural gas once passed.
The US and Gulf Arab states have rejected Iran’s demands. The Strait is considered around the world as an international waterway, despite being the territorial waters of Iran and Oman.
In its announcement, the Joint Maritime Information Centre warned that the threat in the region to ships was “substantial.”
“Mariners are advised of the existence of mines and should expect a naval presence as clearance operations continue,” it said.
