Ballistic missiles were launched from Bahrain in Iran’s direction, according to a video verified by the New York Times. This appears to be the first attack originating from a Gulf country on Iran since the war began on February 28.
The US Navy’s Fifth Fleet is headquartered in Bahrain. Although it is unclear whether Bahrain or the US military fired the missiles, it is reported that at least one of the missiles was fired from an American-made instrument.
The video verified by NYT:
Over the last two weeks, Iran struck several US bases across the Gulf, accusing the Middle-Eastern countries of providing their air or land to the US in launching strikes against the Islamic Republic.
Bahrain’s government, in a statement to NYT, clarified that its military “has not participated in any offensive operations.”
The kingdom declined to comment on whether the video captured US operations in Bahrain.
Missiles struck Baghdad’s US Embassy, another airstrike kills 2
Iraqi officials on Saturday, March 14, said a missile struck a helipad inside the US Embassy in Baghdad, after the US hit Iran’s Kharg Island, also known as the crown jewel, which is home to the primary terminal that handles the country’s oil exports.
Smoke was seen rising from the US Embassy in the Iraqi capital in videos circulating on social media.
The projectile landed within the embassy’s boundaries after the Green Zone, the heavily fortified district in central Baghdad that houses Iraqi government institutions and foreign embassies, the security officials said.
Before the US Embassy was attacked, an airstrike hit a house in Baghdad, killing at least one person, according to a security official and another affiliated with the Iranian-backed armed groups in the country.
On Friday, March 13, the embassy renewed its Level 4 security alert for Iraq, warning that Iran and Iran-aligned militia groups have previously carried out attacks against US citizens, interests and infrastructure, and “may continue to target them.”
In a statement, the Iraqi military condemned the strike as “a blatant violation of all humanitarian values and a disregard for international conventions.”
Iranian media reports 15 explosions in Kharg following US strikes
As the war inches towards its third week, US President Donald Trump’s claim of “obliterating” targets on Iran’s Kharg Island was met with a warning from the speaker of the Iranian Parliament, who said such strikes would provoke a new level of retaliation.
Iran has continued to launch widespread missile and drone attacks on Israel and neighboring Gulf states, and has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s traded oil passes, even as US and Israeli warplanes pummel military and other targets across Iran.
The moves appear to signal that the war is not nearing an end.
Iran’s semiofficial Fars news agency reported at least 15 explosions with thick smoke rising over Kharg Island, following the US strikes.
It said the strikes targeted an air defense facility, a naval base, the airport control tower, and an offshore oil company’s helicopter hangar, adding no oil infrastructure was damaged in the attack.
Iranian FM Araghchi says US begging India to buy Russian oil
Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi, in a social media post on Saturday, mocked the US for its changing stance on Russian oil.
He claimed that the US bullied India to halt Russian oil imports and has resorted to begging after two weeks of war.
“The US spent months on bullying India into ending oil imports from Russia. After two weeks of war with Iran, White House is now begging the world—incl India—to buy Russian crude,” Araghchi wrote on X.
Iran allows 2 India-bound LPG carriers to pass through Strait of Hormuz
Two India-flagged LPG carriers were reportedly allowed to pass through the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, a day after Iran’s Ambassador to India, Mohammad Fathali said that “we will try our best” to help the stranded Indian vessels.
Interacting with reporters on the sidelines of an eventin Delhi, Fathali said, “We believe that Iran and India are friends. We have common interests, we have common faith.”
Hamas calls on Iran to stop attacks on Arab countries
The Palestinian militant group also urged regional countries to “cooperate and stop” the U.S. and Israeli assault on Iran.
“While affirming the right of the Islamic Republic of Iran to respond to this aggression by all available means in accordance with international norms and laws, the movement calls upon the brothers in Iran to avoid targeting neighboring countries,” Hamas said in a statement Saturday, its first since the war began on Feb. 28.
The group, which maintains close ties with Iran and Qatar, said stopping the war is in the interest of the region.
Hamas is part of the so-called Axis of Resistance, which includes Iranian-backed militant groups in the Middle East.
(With inputs from agencies)
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