Kamal Ghorui
Iran launched retaliatory strikes in fury after the killing of its Supreme Leader.After the longest-serving leader in the Middle East was killed in strikes while in office, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran launched strong retaliatory attacks, targeting key cities including Dubai and Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates and Manama in Bahrain. The strikes rattled the Arab world, with multiple American bases and targets across the region coming under attack from an angered and Khamenei-less power centre in Tehran.
The strikes followed a major military operation by the United States and Israel against Iran, aimed at dismantling the political leadership that had been under Khamenei for more than three decades.Also read: US F-15 down in Kuwait? Iran shares video showing fighter jet engulfed in flames, pilots ejectingSatellite images later emerged showing the Iranian offensive targeting the US Fifth Fleet naval base in Manama. The before-and-after comparison of the images highlighted the scale of the damage caused by the strikes on the American facility.A video circulating online also showed smoke rising from the area around the base. Bahrain’s government confirmed that a missile had targeted the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet facility and called the strike a violation of the country’s sovereignty.Officials said the Fifth Fleet service centre was hit in the missile attack and that emergency response teams were immediately deployed to the site. It is not yet clear whether there were any casualties from the strike.The attack in Bahrain came as part of a wider wave of military actions across the Middle East.Several sites linked to the United States across the region are facing threats, including military installations in Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. Air defence systems in several countries were activated in response.Iran described the strikes as defensive retaliation, saying they were a response to what it called aggression against it.Early Sunday, drones struck the airport in Bahrain’s capital, Manama, causing minor damage, authorities said.The US embassy in Manama also urged American citizens to avoid hotels in the city, warning that they could become potential targets after the Crowne Plaza hotel was hit.Tehran’s offensive also targeted cities that are not traditional military targets, including Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Doha, Sharjah and Manama.
