On 18 July, Bahrain’s Ministry of the Interior advised its citizens and residents to move to a safer location after Tehran announced it had struck the Juffair military base in the north of the island.
The Juffair base, known as ‘Naval Support Activity (NSA) Bahrain’, is the base of the US Fifth Fleet in the region.
“An alarm has sounded; citizens and residents are advised to remain calm and proceed to the nearest safe place,” the ministry said in a statement on social media.
The Ministry has not released any details regarding Iran’s claim of an attack, possible casualties or damage to infrastructure.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) has not commented on the statement from Bahrain’s Ministry of the Interior, and Iran’s claim could not be verified by independent sources.
Citing the Baghdad-based Al-Ghadir TV channel, the official Iranian news agency IRNA reported that Tehran had struck the headquarters of the US Fifth Fleet.
Meanwhile, other media outlets, citing the Iranian news agency Fars, suggested that the Iranian strikes may have targeted five key ports where US military facilities or commercial interests are located.