Bahrain became one of the most heavily struck Arab states of the 2026 Iran War because of a single fact of geography and alliance politics, the small island kingdom hosts the headquarters of the US Navy's Fifth Fleet and the Combined Maritime Forces, a 47-nation coalition, at Naval Support Activity Bahrain in the Juffair district of Manama.¹ Beginning on 28 February 2026, hours after a joint US-Israeli operation against Iran, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) began firing ballistic missiles and drones at the base and at surrounding civilian infrastructure.² Strikes continued in waves through the spring and summer, easing during a brief ceasefire in April and again after a formal 60-day truce signed 17 June 2026, before resuming in July when that truce collapsed.³ As of mid-July 2026 the campaign remains active, with at least three civilians killed and more than 51 people injured in Bahrain since the war began.⁴

The immediate trigger was Operation Epic Fury, the American codename (Israel used Roaring Lion) for a coordinated air and missile campaign the United States and Israel launched against Iran starting 27-28 February 2026.⁵ In roughly 900 strikes over twelve hours, US and Israeli forces hit Iranian nuclear sites, missile infrastructure and senior leadership. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed in the opening wave along with IRGC commander Mohammad Pakpour, Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh, senior adviser Ali Shamkhani and armed forces chief of staff Mohammad Bagheri.⁵ US President Donald Trump described the operation's goals as including regime change and ending Iran's nuclear weapons program, and hardline cleric Alireza Arafi was installed as interim Acting Supreme Leader in the aftermath.⁵

Iran's response was not confined to Israel. Within hours, the IRGC widened its retaliation to every Arab state hosting American forces, striking Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates on the same day.⁶ Bahrain drew a disproportionate share of that response. It is the smallest Gulf monarchy geographically, sits barely 200 kilometers from the Iranian coast, and its role as the Fifth Fleet's permanent home, with roughly 8,300 US Navy personnel and their families stationed there, made it both a symbolically loaded and physically reachable target for Iranian missile and drone forces already degraded but not destroyed by the initial American strikes.⁷

The first missiles struck near the Fifth Fleet's Naval Forces Central Command headquarters in the mid-morning of 28 February 2026, the opening day of Iran's retaliation.¹¹ By evening, an Iranian drone had hit a residential tower in Manama's Hoora district, and the Bahrain Defence Force reported intercepting 45 ballistic missiles and 9 drones, including Shahed-136 loitering munitions, in the first 24 hours.² The Crowne Plaza hotel in Manama was also struck by a drone that morning, and Bahrain International Airport briefly closed its airspace.²

On 2 March, Amnesty International later determined, two Iranian Shahed drones struck the American-flagged oil tanker **MT Stena Imperative while it sat under repair at the Arab Shipbuilding and Repair Yard in Al Hidd, killing Bangladeshi shipyard worker SM Tareq** and injuring two others, an incident Amnesty concluded may amount to a war crime because the tanker was a civilian vessel at a civilian repair yard.¹² Initial reporting had attributed the death to falling debris from an intercepted missile, but Amnesty's investigation instead found a direct drone strike on the ship's bow.¹² The same period saw an Iranian missile strike Mina Salman Port and start a fire, and a strike damage an Amazon Web Services data center on the island.²

Iran claimed to have struck Sheikh Isa Air Base on 3 March, the same day McGuinty confirmed Canada's presence at the Fifth Fleet compound.¹⁰ Days later, on 5-6 March, Iranian forces fired the ***Khorramshahr*-4** medium-range ballistic missile, the heaviest system in Iran's Khorramshahr family with a declared range near 2,000 kilometers and a warhead of up to 1,800 kilograms, at American bases in Bahrain and Qatar as part of a broader wave that also sent roughly 600 missiles and 2,000 drones toward Israel, marking the missile's combat debut against a foreign target.¹³

Strikes continued through March. A drone damaged a desalination plant on 8 March, and the next day an explosion near Manama sparked a refinery fire that injured more than 32 Bahraini citizens, with analysts suggesting the blast came from debris of an Iranian drone downed by a Patriot interceptor rather than a direct hit.² Bahrain's state oil company, BAPCO, declared force majeure. On 10 March, falling debris from an office tower in Manama's Seef District killed a 29-year-old Bahraini woman and injured eight others, prompting Gulf Air to temporarily relocate part of its fleet to Saudi Arabia.² By 12 March the Bahrain Defence Force's cumulative interception count stood at 112 ballistic missiles and 186 drones, and Bahraini authorities arrested four nationals accused of espionage for the IRGC.²

Attacks on industrial targets continued into late March and April, hitting the Bahrain Aluminium Company (Alba) on 28 March, when cumulative interceptions reached 174 missiles and 391 drones, and Sheikh Isa Air Base again on 30 March, with satellite imagery showing damage to hangars sheltering Boeing P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft.² Strikes on Bahrain's largest telecom operator and its AWS data center followed on 1-2 April. A first US-Iran ceasefire briefly took hold, but Iranian attacks on residential areas in Sitra continued as late as 8 April despite it, and on 11 June a strike on communications antennas and radar facilities sent a downed drone crashing into Manama, lightly injuring an 11-year-old girl.² By that date the Bahrain Defence Force had intercepted roughly 188 missiles and 468 drones cumulatively since February.²

A more durable 60-day ceasefire between the United States and Iran took effect on 17 June 2026, and strikes on Bahrain largely paused.³ It broke down in early July after President Trump ordered fresh US strikes on Iran, hitting roughly 90 targets, in response to Iranian attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.¹⁴ On 9 July, the IRGC announced what it called the first phase of a punitive response, striking fuel storage sites used by US forces in Bahrain along with targets in Kuwait and in the 2026 Iranian strikes on Qatar, while Bahrain's armed forces said they intercepted and destroyed the incoming projectiles.³ Iran's Foreign Ministry accused Washington of a gross war crime for violating the June truce.¹⁴ Trading of strikes continued through 12-13 July, with diplomatic efforts led by Qatar and Pakistan reported to be underway to restore the ceasefire even as both sides remained on high alert.¹⁵

Why did Iran attack Bahrain specifically?

Bahrain hosts the US Navy's Fifth Fleet headquarters and the Combined Maritime Forces coalition at Naval Support Activity Bahrain in Manama, making it a direct target for Iranian retaliation against the American role in the 28 February 2026 strikes on Iran, even though Bahrain itself did not participate in those strikes.^1,7

Is the US at war with Iran because of the Bahrain strikes?

The Bahrain strikes are one theater within the wider 2026 Iran War, which began with the joint US-Israeli Operation Epic Fury on 28 February 2026. A US-Iran ceasefire signed 17 June 2026 broke down in early July, and both sides had resumed strikes by mid-July 2026.^3,14

How many people have been killed in the Bahrain strikes?

At least three civilians have been killed and more than 51 injured in Bahrain since February 2026, according to tallies current as of mid-2026, including a Bangladeshi shipyard worker killed in a 2 March drone strike on the tanker Stena Imperative and a Bahraini woman killed by falling debris on 10 March.^4,12

Was the US Fifth Fleet headquarters destroyed?

Naval Support Activity Bahrain was not destroyed outright but sustained repeated damage across multiple strikes between February and June 2026, including to its command headquarters building, troop housing, logistics facilities and satellite communications terminals, prompting a Pentagon reassessment of the base's future posture.^16,17

Is the conflict still ongoing?

Yes. As of mid-July 2026, strikes on Bahrain have resumed following the collapse of the 17 June ceasefire, and the situation remains actively contested with mediation efforts led by Qatar and Pakistan still underway.^3,15