Iran drones target Bahrain after US strikes as Hormuz tensions flare

Dubai,UPDATED: Jun 27, 2026 21:24 IST

Iran launched a drone attack targeting Bahrain on Saturday, while a ship in the Strait of Hormuz separately came under attack, in what appeared to be Tehran's response to overnight US airstrikes. There were no immediate reports of damage in Bahrain, and the crew of the ship was reported safe.

The latest attacks highlighted the risk of the conflict escalating again despite an interim agreement between Iran and the United States aimed at reaching a final deal. They also came as a US Navy-overseen maritime body said a route near Oman's shore in the strait would be expanded to allow both inbound and outbound traffic.

The United States had launched airstrikes overnight after an Iranian drone attack on a container ship trying to leave the strait on Thursday, in the latest in a series of attacks that have rattled the ceasefire. Bahrain, one of Iran's strongest critics and host to the US Navy's 5th Fleet, had also just hosted US Secretary of State Marco Rubio for a meeting of Gulf Cooperation Council foreign ministers, which ended with a call for an end to Iran's attacks and for the strait to be fully open.

Bahrain's Foreign Ministry said a "number of Iranian drones" had targeted the country and called the attack "a flagrant threat to the security of citizens and residents". There were no immediate reports of damage.

Earlier on Saturday, Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said in a statement carried by the state-run IRNA news agency that it had targeted several locations "of the US terrorist army in the region". It did not say which places were targeted. The US military's Central Command said it had struck Iranian missile and drone sites as well as coastal radar sites in the overnight action.

US Vice President JD Vance, who has led negotiations with Iran, said on social media on Friday night that Iran should "pick up the phone" if there were disagreements over the ceasefire agreement, "but violence will be met with violence". The two sides are negotiating issues including the movement of ships through the strait, which is vital for global oil and natural gas supplies, and the future of Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium. Under the interim deal, they have 60 days to work out the details.

Separately, the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre said a tanker was attacked on Saturday in the strait. It said the crew was safe and there was no environmental damage. No one immediately claimed responsibility, though suspicion fell on Iran.

Shortly after that, the Joint Maritime Information Centre, overseen by the US Navy, said the route near Oman's shore was being expanded to allow inbound and outbound traffic. Iran has insisted that ships must obey its orders and has warned it will begin charging transit fees for passage through the strait. However, ships have increasingly been trying to leave the Gulf in recent days.

Ebrahim Azizi, who heads the Iranian parliament's national security commission, wrote on Friday: "the Strait of Hormuz is governed by Iran, so: Respect the rules." The United States and Gulf Arab states have rejected Iran's demands. The strait is treated as an international waterway, even though it lies within the territorial waters of Iran and Oman.

The Joint Maritime Information Centre warned that the threat to ships was "substantial", adding that "mariners are advised of the existence of mines and should expect a naval presence as clearance operations continue". The Maritime Organisation on Friday halted a fresh effort to evacuate ships and said it would not resume until there were guarantees that other vessels would not be attacked. It said about 115 ships had been able to move out of the strait in recent days.

The drone attack on Bahrain, the strike on the tanker, the expanded shipping route and the continuing US-Iran negotiations together showed how fragile the ceasefire remains as both sides try to reach a final agreement within 60 days.

With PTI Inputs

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