Iran has launched a retaliatory missile strike on a major United States naval installation in Bahrain, triggering loud explosions and sending plumes of smoke into the skies over the Gulf nation’s capital, Manama.
The strike came hours after the United States announced the commencement of large-scale combat operations against Iranian targets earlier on Saturday.
Iranian forces said they targeted the headquarters of the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, located within the U.S. Fifth Fleet base in Bahrain.
The attack was confirmed by Tasnim News Agency, a semi-official Iranian media outlet associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Residents and military personnel in Bahrain were warned of an incoming missile attack shortly after Washington declared the beginning of its offensive campaign.
Within minutes of the alert, explosions were heard across the city, with witnesses reporting thick columns of smoke rising from the direction of the U.S. base.
Stars and Stripes reports that the full extent of the damage remains unclear as of press time, and U.S. authorities have yet to release an official casualty report.
Air raid sirens and emergency missile alerts were activated across parts of the Middle East following coordinated strikes by the United States and Israel on Iranian targets.
U.S. embassies in Qatar, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Israel issued urgent advisories urging American citizens to shelter in place.
Qatar’s Defense Ministry announced that its air defense systems intercepted several projectiles aimed at its territory.
Jordan also reportedly intercepted two ballistic missiles, according to Reuters.
In a video posted shortly after the strikes began, U.S. President Donald Trump said the mission – codenamed “Operation Epic Fury” – was aimed at dismantling Iran’s missile capabilities and crippling its naval forces.
“I do not make this statement lightly: the Iranian regime seeks to kill,” Trump said. “The lives of courageous American heroes may be lost and we may have casualties. That often happens in war. But we’re doing this, not for now, we’re doing this for the future, and it is a noble mission.”
Trump thereby acknowledged the possibility of American casualties.
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