Bahrain high-rise building burns in ‘Iran drone strike’ as island kingdom becomes unwitting casualty of Israel-US- Iran conflict: Watch

A video circulating online appeared to show a high-rise building in Bahrain ablaze following an explosion as a result of a possible Iranian drone strike. Scroll down to watch the video. The unconfirmed footage appears to show one of a series of Iranian retaliatory strikes targeting US military assets in Bahrain on Saturday (Feb 28) amid the widening confrontation between the Islamic Republic on one side and the US and Israel on the other. Bahrain residents reported explosions and air raid sirens, and authorities issued shelter advisories in affected areas.

Bahrain’s government confirmed that sites within the kingdom were struck, including facilities associated with the US naval base in the Juffair district of Manama. Officials condemned the attack as a violation of national sovereignty.

Iran strikes at US bases and military interests across the Gulf

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it launched missiles and Shahed-type drones at US bases and military assets across the Gulf, including the headquarters of the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet in Bahrain. Iranian state-aligned media described the operation as a direct response to joint US-Israeli airstrikes on Iranian military infrastructure earlier in the day.

Night-time blast sets alight high-rise building in Bahrain

Footage shared on social media showed a dramatic night-time explosion and fire erupting on the upper floors of a high-rise building against the backdrop of the Manama skyline. Some social media users said the building was a civilian residential or hotel tower.

At the time of writing, no official statement from Bahraini or American authorities has confirmed that a specific civilian high-rise was deliberately targeted.

Military and support facilities connected to the Fifth Fleet are located in close proximity to commercial and residential buildings in Juffair. This raises the possibility that the damage seen in the video may have resulted from a strike on or near the naval compound rather than a direct or deliberate hit on a civilian structure.

The video shows a sudden fireball and concentrated impact near the top of the building. This is consistent with either a missile or drone strike, but the intended target remains unclear. It could also be a case of a missile or drone landing off target.

US confirms Iran targeted Fifth Fleet HQ

US defence officials confirmed that the Fifth Fleet headquarters was among the targets, adding that damage assessments were ongoing. The US Central Command or Centcom said there was no casualties or structural damage to the US military site in Bahrain.

Bahrain: An unwitting casualty of the regional war?

Bahrain has become an unwitting casualty of the broader conflict between Iran, the US and Israel because the kingdom hosts the Fifth Fleet headquarters, one of the most important US military installations in the region, along with associated support facilities. Iran had vowed to attack US bases in third countries perceived as supporting military action against it. This has brought Bahrain directly into the line of fire despite it not being a party to the original disputes and tensions between Israel, Iran and the US.

Bahrain’s territory and airspace have been used as launch and support points for US and allied operations. This led Tehran to target these sites as part of its response, reportedly using ballistic missiles and drones.

This illustrates how smaller allied states in the Gulf region can become direct participants in larger geopolitical confrontations not of their own making.

Iran expands conflict across the Gulf region

The strikes in Bahrain form part of a broader Iranian offensive on US military installations that also included assets in Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. Several Gulf states reported intercepting incoming projectiles and temporarily closing airspace.

The confrontation followed what US and Israeli officials described as a coordinated operation against Iranian defence sites earlier on Saturday. Iranian outlets said those strikes hit multiple facilities inside Iran, including infrastructure in southern provinces, resulting in civilian casualties. Western officials stated that the objective of the operation was to degrade Iran’s military capabilities.

Disclaimer: WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing conflicts in West Asia involving Israel, Iran, US, Gulf nations and non-state actors like Hezbollah, Hamas, Houthis, Islamic State, and others. Claims and counterclaims, disinformation and misinformation are being made online and offline. Given this context, WION cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, social media posts, photos and videos.

Watch the Bahrain high-rise building attack video here:
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