Iran hits US Gulf base in retaliation against attacks on Tehran

Bahrain’s state news agency confirmed on Saturday that the Fifth Fleet service centre was targeted in the strike which followed Israeli and United States aerial operations earlier in the day against sites inside Iran, including Tehran. Explosions were reported across parts of the Iranian capital. Air defence systems were activated.

The US central command had not, at the time of publication, released a damage assessment or confirmed casualties. 

In an address posted on social media on Saturday, President Donald Trump said the US aim was to “defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime”.

He warned members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard — a powerful branch of Iran’s armed forces — to lay down their arms or face “certain death”.

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said the country’s armed forces had begun what it described as a decisive response to US actions carried out in coordination with Israel. 

The council warned that further operations in Tehran and other cities were expected and ordered schools and universities closed until further notice. Government offices will operate at reduced capacity, while banks remain open.

A spokesperson for the Iranian Armed Forces said Iran would “teach Israel and the United States a lesson they have never experienced in their history”.

Iranian state-linked outlet Fars News Agency reported that additional US installations — Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait and Al Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates — were also targeted. Authorities in those countries had not confirmed impacts.

Washington earlier described its strikes inside Iran as aimed at degrading military capabilities. Iranian officials characterised them as violations of sovereignty and signalled that US military assets in the region would be treated as legitimate targets.

Airspace restrictions were introduced in parts of the Gulf as governments heightened security measures.
The confirmed strike in Bahrain marks the first acknowledged impact on US-linked infrastructure outside Israeli territory since the exchange began earlier in the day, extending the confrontation into a wider regional theatre.