Missiles launched from Bahrain toward Iran in possible 1st Gulf-origin attack: Report

ISTANBUL

Ballistic missiles were launched from Bahrain toward Iran, appearing to be the first confirmed attack on Iranian territory from a Persian Gulf country since the war began, the New York Times reported on Friday.

A video verified by the newspaper showed ballistic missiles launched from Bahrain toward Iran, but the footage makes it unclear whether the missiles were fired by US or Bahraini forces.

The video, posted on social media on March 7 and verified by the NYT, was filmed near a residential area and an airport in northern Bahrain. It shows two missiles launched into the air, leaving white smoke trails as they head northeast over the sea toward Iran.

Bahrain hosts the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet, and defense experts who reviewed the footage said at least one appeared to be fired from US-made equipment, according to the report.

The launcher for the first missile is obscured by a building, but the trail of a second missile points to another launcher nearby. That launcher appears to be a US-made M142 HIMARS truck, according to national security analyst Wes J. Bryant and Fabian Hoffmann, a missile specialist at the University of Oslo, the report noted.

Bahrain said in a statement to the newspaper that its military “has not participated in any offensive operations.”

Since Israel and the US launched joint attacks on Iran on Feb. 28, killing some 1,200 people, including then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, hostilities have escalated.

Iran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, Jordan, Iraq, and Gulf countries hosting US military assets.