Air-Raid Sirens Sound Across Bahrain as Iran Retaliates Against Gulf States
Air-raid alerts sounded across Bahrain and other Gulf states early Thursday as Iran fired back at Gulf Arab hosts of U.S. forces, hours after overnight U.S. strikes on five Iranian provinces.
Developing story — this page will be updated as information becomes available.
Air-raid sirens sounded across Bahrain and other Gulf states in the early hours of Thursday as Iran launched a fresh wave of retaliation against Gulf Arab hosts of U.S. forces, hours after the U.S. military struck at least five Iranian provinces overnight. The Associated Press reported that “Tehran fires back at Gulf Arab states” following the American attacks, marking a second consecutive day in which Iran has targeted its Sunni Arab neighbours in response to U.S. action.
What We Know
Al Jazeera confirmed air-raid alerts activated across multiple Gulf states following the U.S. strikes, with Bahrain — home to the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet headquarters at Naval Support Activity Manama — among those affected. The alerts came after a night in which U.S. Central Command struck approximately 90 Iranian targets across five provinces, killing at least 14 people and wounding 78, according to Iran’s Health Ministry as reported by Middle East Eye.
The Associated Press headline “US launches new airstrikes on Iran and Tehran fires back at Gulf Arab states” indicates that Iranian retaliation has already begun and is directed at Gulf Arab nations hosting American bases. This is the second consecutive day Iran has struck at Gulf hosts of U.S. forces: on Wednesday, Iran’s IRGC hit U.S. military installations in Bahrain and Kuwait in an earlier retaliatory wave.
Iran’s Tehran-Mashhad railway service has also been suspended following the overnight U.S. strikes, according to Iranian state media, indicating the operational impact of the U.S. campaign is being felt well beyond the direct strike zones.
What We Don’t Know
The scale, targets, and casualty count from the Iranian retaliation against Gulf Arab states on Thursday are still developing. Bahraini authorities have not yet published an official statement on the sirens, and there is no independent confirmation of whether Iranian projectiles struck territory, were intercepted, or triggered precautionary alerts only. The status of ceasefire arrangements and the Memorandum of Understanding framework between Washington and Tehran is unclear as the exchange continues.
Context
The overnight U.S. strikes marked the second night in a row that American forces have hit Iranian territory, following Wednesday’s attacks that CENTCOM said struck around 90 military targets across Bandar Abbas, Sirik, Konarak, Chabahar, and Iranshahr. A firefighter was killed at Iranshahr airport in earlier strikes. President Trump warned Tuesday that the interim ceasefire framework was effectively over, and French President Macron has said the U.S. action violated the MOU negotiated at Islamabad.
Bahrain hosts the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet and has been a repeated Iranian target this cycle, including June 27 drone strikes and June 28 missile attacks. Iran opening a second retaliatory wave against Gulf hosts within 24 hours signals that Tehran views the U.S. escalation as having broken the ceasefire framework outright.
What to Watch
- Whether Bahraini or Kuwaiti authorities confirm impacts on U.S. installations or civilian areas from Thursday’s Iranian retaliation.
- Whether oil markets — already rising on the overnight strikes — price in a wider Gulf theatre as Iran targets multiple Arab hosts.
- Whether the Trump administration and Tehran make any public statement declaring the Islamabad MOU dead, or whether both sides continue to fight while claiming the framework remains technically alive.
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