Military tensions between the United States and Iran are now spilling visibly across the Gulf and into Iraq. Iran's Revolutionary Guards claim to have struck US positions in northern Iraq, while Bahrain has issued a second warning over a possible threat. The developments come amid heightened military activity around the Strait of Hormuz, with concerns growing across the region over the possibility of a larger retaliatory strike.
Iran claims strike on US facilities in Erbil
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has claimed it carried out a combined missile and drone attack on US facilities in Iraq's Erbil province. A statement carried by Iranian state media said the strike damaged a repair centre and several warehouses containing technical equipment. The IRGC also claimed to have targeted the guidance system of a US surveillance balloon and said fuel tanks at the base had caught fire. Iran further claimed American personnel had been killed in the attack, though this has not been independently verified.
Bahrain sounds second alert
Bahrain's Interior Ministry has issued a second alert urging citizens and residents not to panic but to move to the nearest safe location. The ministry has also advised people to stay alert to updates issued through official channels. The warning comes as Bahrain remains under heightened security risk due to ongoing US-Iran tensions, with the US State Department having already issued a travel advisory for the country citing the threat of missile and drone attacks.
Iran vows retaliation will continue
Tensions between Iran and the US have moved beyond rhetoric into sustained military action. A spokesman for Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, Colonel Ebrahim Zolfaghari, said Iranian missile and drone operations against US positions would continue. According to Iranian state broadcaster IRIB, Zolfaghari claimed that strikes carried out in response to US attacks had caused heavy damage to American infrastructure, military facilities, weapons and equipment, and asserted that a significant number of US commanders and soldiers had been killed or wounded. These claims have not been independently verified. Zolfaghari warned that if the US continued its attacks, Iran's next response could be heavier, wider in scope and more destructive.
Why Bahrain matters
Bahrain is more than a small Gulf state — it hosts a significant US regional military presence, making it strategically sensitive in any US-Iran confrontation. This is not the first time alerts and sirens have sounded there over feared Iranian strikes; a second warning was also issued in July. UK travel advice for the region similarly recommends that people stay away from military and security installations during periods of tension, and move to a safe building or shelter if required.
Iran frames strikes as response to Siriq wedding attack
Iran has presented its latest strikes as retaliation for an earlier US strike in the southern coastal region of Siriq. According to the Iranian Red Crescent, four people, including a child, were killed and more than 50 injured after debris and shrapnel struck a wedding gathering in Kuhestak, Siriq county, during a US strike. The US side maintains its military action targeted IRGC positions and was carried out in response to alleged threats to US troops and commercial vessels in the region. What exactly was targeted in Siriq remains disputed.