Iranian airstrikes on Bahrain wounded more than 30 people on Monday and sparked a fire near a petroleum refinery, according to the Bahraini authorities, prompting Arab countries to condemn the latest wave of Iran’s retaliatory strikes.
Iran has fired hundreds of missiles and drones at its neighbors in the Persian Gulf since Israel and the United States began their military campaign against Iran just over a week ago. The Iranian government says that it is targeting American military bases, but the strikes have killed civilians and damaged sites including airports, hotels and energy infrastructure.
Several countries in the Persian Gulf are key American allies, and Bahrain hosts the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet and U.S. Naval Forces Central Command. Relations between several of the Persian Gulf countries and Iran were warming until the U.S.-Israeli military campaign set off a series of Iranian retaliatory strikes and engulfed the region in conflict.
Bahrain’s Ministry of Health said on Monday that an Iranian drone strike in Sitra, an island near the capital, Manama, had wounded 32 Bahrainis, four of them seriously. Among the wounded were four minors, including a 2-month-old baby, the ministry said.
Part of the refinery complex of Bapco Energies, Bahrain’s state-owned energy company, is on Sitra.
Separately, Bahrain’s Ministry of Interior reported that a fire at a “facility” in Ma’ameer, an area near Sitra where Bapco Energies also operates, was the result of “Iranian aggression.” The fire was brought under control with no injuries or casualties, the ministry said.
Hours after the drone attack, Bapco Energies invoked force majeure, a legal provision that freed it from legal liabilities because it was unable to meet its contractual obligations due to the war.
Bahrain’s Defense Force said on Monday that its air defense systems had destroyed 102 missiles and 171 drones since the start of what it described as an Iranian attack on Feb. 28.
Iran has hit regional U.S. allies every day since the start of the conflict, just over a week ago. Two civilians were killed on Sunday in Saudi Arabia when a “military projectile” fell on their residence in the Al Kharj region, which is home to a Saudi air base used by the U.S. military, according to Saudi Arabia’s civil defense.
In a statement, Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry said that Iran’s attacks against “Arab, Islamic, and friendly countries” could not be “accepted or justified under any circumstances” and that Saudi Arabia “retains its full right to take all necessary measures to safeguard its security.”
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry issued a similar condemnation on Monday, blaming the death of the two civilians in Saudi Arabia on Iran and warning against “dangerous escalation that threatens the security and stability of the region.”
Masoud Pezeshkian, Iran’s president, had apologized on Saturday for the waves of Iranian attacks on neighboring countries. But he quickly backtracked after facing criticism from other Iranian leaders.
Raja Abdulrahim reports on the Middle East and is based in Jerusalem.
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