Iran's Revolutionary Guard said Friday morning that its aerospace force had targeted and destroyed a U.S. early-warning radar system in Bahrain, marking the first announcement of an attack on U.S. military sites in the Gulf states since early September.
Iranian television carried a statement from the Guard saying the operation was carried out hours before its announcement in response to an airstrike that targeted a communications tower in the coastal city of Sirik, in southern Iran's Hormozgan Province. Iran's official Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported Thursday evening that the city had come under a “hostile attack” without providing further details.
No confirmation from Washington or Manama
The United States and Bahrain have not yet confirmed or commented on the announced attack. The development follows a period of relative calm in the conflict that began with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28 before expanding to include other countries in the region.
U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday that he would not hesitate to use military force against Iran again if necessary, adding, “I may do it now,” and saying that the Iranian regime was “collapsing.” Trump warned that if the Iranians killed a senior U.S. official, “they would not exist after that.”
“No geographical restrictions” on the response
Meanwhile, the commander of the Iranian Army's Air Force said the Supreme Leader's latest directives to lift geographical restrictions meant that Iran's response would no longer be subject to any geographical boundaries. He said Iran would respond to any attack at the same level or with greater force. This comes amid rising tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, where the Iranian military said Thursday that two oil tankers struck naval mines east of the strait and caught fire.
Photos: Iran's Revolutionary Guard, illustrative images
