IRGC Claims Radar Strike in Bahrain; US Central Command Denies It
Iran's Revolutionary Guard says it destroyed a US early-warning radar in Bahrain, its first direct attack on US military sites in months. US Central Command denies the radar was hit and says it intercepted two Iranian drones headed for the Gulf kingdom.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it destroyed a US early-warning radar in Bahrain, in the latest Bahrain news to raise fears of a wider Gulf conflict. US Central Command denied the claim on November 13 and said American forces had intercepted two Iranian drones headed for the kingdom.
It is Iran's first direct attack on US military installations for months. The IRGC described it as a response to a US airstrike on a communications tower in Sirik, which overlooks the strait of Hormuz.
"This is a serious warning to the aggressor enemy to end its aerial mischief and oil smuggling in the strait of Hormuz," the IRGC said. It added that its aerospace force was "on full alert to confront the enemy without constraint" if there were further violations.
Washington's position
US President Donald Trump has said in a series of media interviews over the past 24 hours that he will attack Iran only if necessary. He claimed Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia, have urged him to hold back from planned large-scale strikes.
Trump also said he had asked Vice-President JD Vance to drop his interest in negotiating a new deal with Iran. He wants Vance to focus instead on corruption and fraud in Democrat-run cities and states.
Iranian officials had viewed Vance as the most trustworthy figure close to Trump. They had nonetheless rejected his request for a personal meeting with their negotiators to discuss peace terms.
Vance has been at the forefront of Republicans arguing that the war caused widespread Republican losses in the midterms. Trump said he was disappointed in the American public, arguing that higher diesel prices were a small price to pay for stopping Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
British opinion and Iran's nuclear debate
A YouGov poll for the Council for Arab-British Understanding (Caabu) found 65% of the British public would oppose the US resuming the war in Iran. Only 14% would back it.
The poll also found 54% oppose UK bases being used by the US to mount attacks on Iran, with 29% in favor. Support for extra UK sanctions on Iran was 45%, with 22% opposed. It was conducted on Tuesday and Wednesday, before two Iranians were found guilty on Thursday of spying and planning attacks on journalists in the UK.
Chris Doyle, Caabu's director, said the British public was "sceptical about any war on Iran and what it might achieve". Opposition to further war stood at 79% among 2024 Labour voters.
Separately, Iran's Assembly of Experts, the body of senior clerics that chooses the supreme leader, called for a review of the country's defense doctrine. In a statement on Thursday, it urged a review of Iran's membership of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, calling the move an "unavoidable necessity".
Iran has long barred nuclear weapons under a fatwa issued by the late supreme leader Ali Khamenei, though its relevance since the US attacks has been widely questioned. Whether Iran has the uranium stockpiles or technology to build a bomb is contested.
