Daijiworld Media Network - Manama
Manama, Mar 10: A 29-year-old woman was killed and eight others injured after an Iranian strike hit a residential building in the capital of Bahrain, authorities said on Tuesday, as tensions escalated across the Gulf region with multiple countries intercepting drones and missiles launched by Iran.
According to Bahrain’s Ministry of Interior, the attack struck a residential building in Manama. Earlier, the Ministry of Health had reported that two people, including several children, were wounded in a drone strike on the island of Sitra, located south of the capital.
Bahrain said its air defence systems intercepted and destroyed 102 missiles and 173 drones launched towards the kingdom in what officials described as “Iranian aggression.” The Bahrain Defence Force condemned the attack, calling it a “sinful Iranian aggression”.
Elsewhere in the Gulf, incoming missile sirens were heard in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday morning.
The Saudi Ministry of Defense said it destroyed two drones over the kingdom’s oil-rich eastern region, while in Kuwait the Kuwait National Guard reported shooting down six drones targeting northern and southern parts of the country.
The latest escalation comes amid the ongoing conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran. US President Donald Trump told Republican lawmakers that the conflict could be a “short excursion,” but later warned that the US would sharply escalate attacks if Iran attempted to block the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran has been targeting energy infrastructure and military installations across the Gulf region while also launching missiles and drones towards Israeli and US bases.
In Qatar, authorities reported that 17 ballistic missiles and seven drones were intercepted, while attacks on energy facilities forced some production cuts.
The state-owned Bapco in Bahrain declared force majeure after repeated strikes on its energy infrastructure disrupted supply commitments.
Saudi Arabia’s Shaybah oilfield, which produces about one million barrels of oil daily, has also come under repeated drone attacks in recent days, raising concerns about the security of energy supplies from the Gulf region.
Global oil markets reacted sharply to the escalation. Brent crude prices surged to nearly $120 a barrel on Monday before easing to around $90 on Tuesday, still about 24 per cent higher than when the conflict began on February 28.
Iran has also blocked tanker movements through the Strait of Hormuz — a key shipping lane between the Gulf and the Gulf of Oman through which roughly 20 per cent of the world’s oil supply passes.
Responding to US warnings, a spokesperson for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Ali Mohammad Naini, said in remarks carried by Iranian state media that Iran would determine when the war ends.