Iran’s Guards say they targeted US radar system in Bahrain

• Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they “targeted and destroyed” a US early warning radar in Bahrain, in response to air attacks on a telecommunications tower in Sirik.
• The claim was reported by Iranian state broadcaster on Nov 13, but Bahrain and the United States gave no immediate confirmation.
• The strike deepens tensions in the Gulf, where Iran has hit shipping and infrastructure, while the US has backed oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz.

TEHRAN – Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said their forces had targeted a US early warning radar system in Bahrain, according to a statement carried by the Iranian state broadcaster on Nov 13.

There was no immediate confirmation of a strike on Bahrain by Manama or the United States, whose bases and equipment in the Gulf were repeatedly targeted earlier in its eight-month war with Iran.

“A few hours ago, IRGC Aerospace Force fighters targeted and destroyed the US aggressors’ early-warning radar on the island of Bahrain in response to the enemy’s air aggression against a telecommunications tower in Sirik,” the Guards said in the statement, referring to a port city in southern Iran.

“This is a serious warning to the aggressor enemy to stop its aerial provocations and oil smuggling in the Strait of Hormuz,” it added in the statement, posted by the state broadcaster on Telegram.

The US Central Command, which oversees American military operations in the region, said in October that it had helped Gulf countries export 1.5 billion barrels of oil since the summer via Hormuz, a key energy trading route.

Gulf countries bore the brunt of Tehran’s wrath after the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran on Feb 28, triggering the war.

In retaliation, Iran restricted shipping through Hormuz and struck infrastructure including airports, seaports, energy facilities, landmarks and American assets in the US-allied countries.

The United States imposed a blockade on Iranian ports early in the war and in August, Washington announced what it called an “economic asphyxiation” campaign on Iran aimed at curbing its trade and financial flows.

Washington has appeared to dial back threats of renewed strikes after the defeat of US President Donald Trump’s Republican party in recent midterm elections, in part due to the unpopularity of the war on Iran. AFP