Bahrain on Friday said Iran struck one hotel and two residential buildings in the capital Manama, correcting a previous announcement that two hotels and one residential building were hit.
The updated announcement came as Tehran presses on with its retaliation campaign throughout the Gulf.
Bahrain's Ministry of Interior said in a post on X that material damage was sustained but there was no loss of life in the strikes on the hotel and residential buildings.
“Civil defence extinguished a fire in a flat in one of the two buildings,” said the ministry.
The incident came hours after an Iranian missile strike that sparked a fire at a unit of Bahrain’s Bapco Energies refinery, authorities said Thursday. The blaze was contained, no injuries were reported and refinery operations continued, the National Communication Centre said.
This has been unprecedented for Manama. “We’re at home most of the time. Some areas are completely closed,” a Manama resident, who asked not to be named, told The National. “Shops open and close intermittently.
Nobody is allowed to take photos or videos and authorities are "very strict" on the matter, he said, with phones being searched.
“We're hearing very loud explosions. Today was exceptionally bad. Despite this, we still feel the situation is bearable because the government appears to able to keep things under control.”
Iran fired a barrage of missiles and drones at countries across the Gulf overnight, while Israel renewed air strikes on the Islamic Republic in a war that’s entered a seventh day with no end in sight.
Bahrain, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait were among the states that came under renewed attack from Iran, while Israeli air strikes hit Tehran and Beirut.
Qatar has condemned Iranian attacks on buildings in Bahrain that are housing members of its naval forces.
Doha officials said its personnel were participating in the GCC Unified Maritime Operations Centre in Bahrain. It added, though, that they were unharmed.
The attack is a” blatant act of aggression and a flagrant violation of the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Bahrain and a direct threat to its security and stability and that of the region”, the Qatari Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Iran claims that it is only targeting American assets in the region in response to US and Israeli raids on the country.
Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Saeed Khatibzadeh, warned there is “no option but to end the US presence” in the Gulf.
“The Americans have decided to put an end to the existence of Iran and the Israelis have been promising this for many decades because of their delusion about a 'greater Israel'. This is our response: we have no option but to put an end to the presence of the United States in the surrounding areas of Iran,” said Mr Khatibzadeh at the Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi on Friday.
“We told the Americans and we told our neighbours that if they would like to put an end to the existence of the greatest or oldest civilisation on Earth, then we have no option but to put an end to the existence and presence of the United States in the Gulf, [where] they do have multiple military bases, equipment and assets targeting us.”
Breach of international law
Gulf nations have borne the brunt of Iran’s retaliation, despite previously announcing that their airspace and territory would not be used against the Islamic Republic.
The General Secretariat of the Arab Interior Ministers Council has strongly condemned the Iranian attacks against countries in the region, describing the strikes as a breach of international law and the UN Charter.
In a statement issued from its headquarters in Tunis, the Secretariat stressed its firm rejection of attacks on the UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and Jordan, saying they undermine security and stability in the region.
Bahrain Defence Force said it had brought down 143 drones and 78 missiles since the war began.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told Bahrain’s King Hamid bin Isa that four jets the UK is deploying to Qatar could be used to help defend his country.
The UK announced on Thursday it would despatch four additional Typhoon jets to join the UK's existing RAF/Qatari squadron in Qatar. The squadron has been involved in shooting down hostile drones targeting facilities in Qatar.
Travel disrupted
Gulf Air, Bahrain’s national airline, has extended the suspension of its flights.
“Flights remain temporarily suspended as closure of Bahrain airspace continues,” Gulf Air said on Friday.
The airline said the next update will be given on Saturday, expecting a continued suspension until the Bahrain Civil Aviation Authority “confirms safe reopening”.
On Thursday, The UK said on it was “temporarily” withdrawing some staff and their dependents from its Bahrain embassy.
“Due to the continuing security situation, the UK has taken the precautionary step of temporarily withdrawing some embassy staff” and their families, it said in a statement on Instagram.
“Our embassy continues to operate,” it said, adding that “the situation is serious and we do not expect it to end in the coming days”.
