The United States military has denied Iran’s claim that its forces struck a US early-warning radar installation in Bahrain, saying it intercepted two attack drones launched by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said the drones were shot down on Friday, adding that the incident caused no injuries or damage.
The development followed an IRGC statement claiming responsibility for an attack on a US radar installation in Bahrain in retaliation for what it described as an airstrike on a telecommunications tower in southern Iran.
However, neither the Iranian nor the American account of the incident could be independently confirmed.
Reporting from the White House in Washington, DC, Al Jazeera correspondent Alan Fisher said the two sides had offered different accounts of the confrontation.
“We have what the IRGC are saying, while CENTCOM is saying there were two one-way attack drones shot down by the US as they headed towards Iran,” he said.
Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Tehran, Resul Serdar, said the United States had occasionally targeted telecommunications networks at military sites in southern Iran.
He noted that the latest development marked a shift from previous Iranian responses, raising concerns about possible further attacks on US military facilities in neighbouring countries.
The IRGC’s claim came hours after Iran’s state news agency, IRNA, citing official sources, reported that the port city of Sirik in Hormozgan Province was hit by “enemy fire” on Thursday.
In a statement carried by the semi-official Tasnim news agency, the IRGC described its alleged attack as a “serious warning” to the “aggressor enemy” over what it called repeated aerial provocations and oil smuggling in the Strait of Hormuz.
“Should these violations and acts of aggression recur, the IRGC Aerospace Force stands in full readiness to engage without limits,” the statement said.
The IRGC-affiliated Fars news agency also claimed that the force had “targeted and destroyed” the radar installation.
According to Reuters, the claim marked the first time since early September that Iran had reported an attack on US military assets in a Gulf country.
The development comes as Israel’s security cabinet has reportedly directed the military to increase preparations for a possible attack on Iran, according to Israeli media, including public broadcaster KAN.
Iran’s security chief, Mohsen Rezaei, has warned that if the United States launches another war, military bases involved in the operation, from West Asia to Europe, would be legitimate targets for Iranian strikes.
A Pentagon Inspector General’s report released in September found that Iranian attacks had damaged or destroyed hundreds of buildings at US military installations in eight countries, including Bahrain, during the first four months of the war.
Analysts have also said several US bases in the region have been rendered almost unusable.
US President Donald Trump has said he is prepared to resume military operations if diplomatic efforts mediated by Qatar fail to produce an agreement.
However, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said economic pressure on Iran was proving effective enough to make a return to large-scale military operations unnecessary.
In an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera on Wednesday, Iran’s Parliament Speaker and lead negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said the Strait of Hormuz would never return to its pre-war condition.
He added that “the ball is now in the American court”.
Meanwhile, CENTCOM said its forces were continuing to enforce the naval blockade on Iranian ports.
The war began on February 28 following US and Israeli attacks on Iran.
