The Trump administration scrambled Friday to knock down Iran’s claim that it destroyed a U.S. early-warning radar in Bahrain — the first Iranian attack on the Gulf kingdom since September.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said the strike was retaliation for an attack on a telecommunications tower in the southern Iranian port of Sirik on Thursday, Drop Site News reported. Bahrain is home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet.
“This serves as a serious warning to the aggressor enemy to cease its aerial provocations and oil smuggling in the Strait of Hormuz,” the IRGC said. “Should these violations and acts of aggression recur, the IRGC Aerospace Force stands in full readiness to engage without limits.”
U.S. Central Command swiftly shot down the account in a statement published on social media.
“CLAIM: Today, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it attacked a ‘U.S. early-warning radar’ in Bahrain,” reads the statement from U.S. Central Command. “FACT: The IRGC launched two one-way attack drones toward Bahrain and both were shot down by U.S. forces. There were no injuries or damage.”
Iran’s navy separately said it shot down a U.S. MQ-1 Predator drone over the Strait of Hormuz, according to the state-aligned Islamic Republic News Agency. CENTCOM’s statement did not address that claim, and Bahrain offered no immediate comment, Reuters reported.
The dueling accounts landed in the middle of what Reuters described as a fragile lull in the war. The war erupted Feb. 28, when the U.S. and Israel struck Iran, and has since engulfed the region. Tehran has retaliated with strikes on U.S. bases across the Gulf and moves to throttle traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, and Washington has answered with a naval blockade of Iranian ports.
Friday’s denial also landed amid growing scrutiny at home, as some U.S. lawmakers have questioned how forthcoming the Pentagon has been about incidents in the conflict, according to Middle East Eye.
Meanwhile, the strait showed no signs of cooling off. The IRGC said a liquefied petroleum gas tanker struck a mine there and claimed Iran’s navy had repeatedly warned ships to stay out of an “unauthorized” southern passage.
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