US Military Denies Iran Claim It Destroyed Early-Warning Radar in Bahrain

MANAMA, November 13, 2026 – The United States military has denied an Iranian claim that it destroyed a US early-warning radar in Bahrain, saying American forces shot down two one-way attack drones launched towards the Gulf kingdom and that there were no injuries or damage.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said in a statement carried by Iranian state media on Friday that its aerospace force had “targeted and destroyed the US aggressors’ early-warning radar on the island of Bahrain”. Arab News, citing Agence France-Presse, reported that wording. Al-Monitor said the statement located the radar on Jabal ad Dukhan hill in southern Bahrain.

The Guards said the operation was “in response to the enemy’s air aggression against a telecommunications tower in Sirik”, a port city in Hormozgan province on the Strait of Hormuz, according to RFE/RL. Iran’s official news agency, IRNA, had earlier reported that Sirik was hit by an “enemy” strike, without naming the attacker or giving details of damage or casualties. RFE/RL noted that the IRGC statement also stopped short of directly blaming the United States for the alleged raid on Sirik, and that US Central Command (CENTCOM) made no reference to it.

CENTCOM said: “The IRGC launched two one-way attack drones toward Bahrain and both were shot down by US forces. There were no injuries or damage.” Reuters reported the same denial on Friday and said there was no immediate comment from Bahrain. A Reuters world news summary described the claim as the first of its kind against American military assets in a Gulf country since early September.

In the same statement, the Guards called the episode “a serious warning to the aggressor enemy to stop its aerial provocations and oil smuggling in the Strait of Hormuz,” Arab News reported. Al-Monitor quoted a further warning that, “if violations and aggressions are repeated, the IRGC Aerospace Force is on full alert to respond without geographical limits.” Regional media did not independently confirm that the radar had been hit.

Bahrain hosts the headquarters of the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet, and Iranian forces have previously claimed attacks on American facilities there during the wider US–Iran conflict. CENTCOM said last month that it had helped Gulf countries export 1.5 billion barrels of oil since the summer through the Strait of Hormuz, a corridor that carries a large share of the world’s seaborne oil and gas.

For Malaysia, an energy-importing economy whose fuel costs and inflation track global oil markets, any flare-up around Hormuz remains a practical concern. The strait is a chokepoint for supplies that help set prices paid by households and businesses in Southeast Asia. Kuala Lumpur has not issued a public comment on Friday’s claim and denial, and this report does not infer one.

Credit : Reuters / Associated Press / US Central Command / Iranian state media

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