Bahrain on High Alert as Sirens Sound After U.S. Strike on Iran

Photo: Arab networks

Bahrain on High Alert as Sirens Sound After U.S. Strike on Iran, Efrat Briner, 10 minutes ago, 0 0 votes

Air raid sirens sounded across Bahrain, putting the Gulf kingdom on the highest alert after the U.S. strike in Iran. The sirens, which serve as a warning of an air attack, prompted emergency civilian preparations that include taking shelter and movement restrictions. In the past, Iran attacked the country when the target was U.S. infrastructure on Bahraini soil.

Air raid warnings were activated overnight, between Wednesday and Thursday, across Bahrain, shortly after U.S. Central Command launched a broad and powerful wave of bombings inside Iranian territory, with heavy American B2 bombers seen in the skies over Bahrain on their way to their targets.

The sirens in Bahrain are not operating in a vacuum. They are a direct and close result of the U.S. Central Command announcement that the military had begun launching additional self-defense strikes under the direct order of President Donald Trump, in response to Iran’s continuing aggression. Fox News confirmed that American bombers had already struck targets inside Iran, including loud explosions heard in Tehran, blasts in Sirik and Minab, and the activation of air defense systems on Qeshm Island.

Bahrain has become the most sensitive point in the Gulf for several central reasons, the main one being that it hosts U.S. Navy headquarters. The sophisticated stealth B2 bombers seen in its skies tonight illustrate that the country serves as a major logistical and operational hub in the American campaign. Bahrain’s proximity to the maritime battlefield heightens the danger. The Iranian news agency Mehr has already reported armed, direct clashes in the Strait of Hormuz between Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces and American ships that were attacked by fire.

According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, Pentagon and U.S. administration officials have defined the current military operation as “coercive diplomacy,” the use of massive firepower to force Tehran to make concessions on its nuclear program and return to the negotiating table. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who arrived at U.S. Central Command headquarters in Florida, said in his own words that “the strikes against Iran tonight will be clear and powerful,” after President Trump convened a Situation Room meeting and declared that the U.S. would strike “very hard.”

In response to Western pressure, Iran drew its “doomsday weapon” in the economic sphere and officially announced: “From this moment, due to the insecurity in the region, the Strait of Hormuz is closed to the movement of all types of vessels, including oil tankers and commercial ships.” The Iranian regime made clear that any ship attempting to pass through the strait would be attacked immediately.

Yemen’s foreign minister quickly responded and attacked the American move, warning that the escalation endangers international peace and will bring devastating consequences for the entire Middle East. At the same time, the U.S. Embassy in Iraq issued an unusual Level 4 travel warning and cautioned about the immediate closure of regional airspace.

For now, on one side, the Iranian regime, through parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and President Masoud Pezeshkian, is sending a firm message that Iran “will not surrender” and will respond immediately. On the other side, Politico reports that Trump’s circle is trying to calm tensions and making clear that the president wants to keep the confrontation “below the threshold of full-scale war” in order to allow for a diplomatic solution.

Iran, Bahrain, Donald Trump, Strait of Hormuz