Iran and US trade conflicting claims over Bahrain radar strike

Tensions in the Middle East rose on Friday, November 13, 2026, as Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed to have destroyed a United States early-warning radar installation in Bahrain. The IRGC said the strike was retaliation for a US air attack on a telecommunications tower in Sirik, in the southern Iranian province of Hormozgan.

According to Al Jazeera, the IRGC called the operation a “serious warning” meant to stop what it described as aerial provocations and oil smuggling in the Strait of Hormuz. The IRGC added that its aerospace forces remain on high alert to respond without limits if such violations continue. The Guardian reported that it is Iran’s first direct attack on US military installations for months.

The US military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) denied that any radar system was destroyed. As reported by Al Jazeera and The Guardian, CENTCOM said US forces intercepted two Iranian attack drones; according to The Guardian, they were headed for Bahrain. Al Jazeera’s Alan Fisher, reporting from Washington, said neither the US nor the Iranian claim could be confirmed. The Hindu reported that the US military describes its recent limited air strikes in southern Iran, including on Qeshm island, as defensive and aimed at neutralising threats to maritime traffic.

The situation remains volatile as the Strait of Hormuz stays a focal point of the conflict. The Hindu noted that while the IRGC says the waterway is closed, the US Navy says it has opened a southern route for commercial vessels while keeping an “ironclad blockade” of Iranian ports. UK Maritime Trade Operations reported that at least six vessels came under attack in the strait during the first week of November.

Diplomatic efforts appear to have stalled. The Hindu reported that US President Donald Trump pulled Vice President J.D. Vance off talks with Iran and said the US did not want a deal, after Qatar-mediated efforts produced no breakthrough. Separately, The Guardian reported that Iran’s Assembly of Experts, a body of senior clerics, has called for a review of the country’s defence doctrine and of its membership of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, a step the paper said could lead to religious permission for Iran to try to acquire a nuclear weapon. The Guardian also noted that the UN nuclear inspectorate has expressed alarm at Iran’s continued refusal to allow access to design information or inspections at its Isfahan facility.

Al Jazeera’s Resul Serdar, reporting from Tehran, asked whether Iran would keep attacking US military assets in neighbouring countries, which he said could lead to another wave of war. The Hindu reported that Iran’s Chief of the General Staff, Maj. Gen. Ali Abdollahi, said any new “miscalculation” by the US or Israel would be met with “devastating strikes”.