MANAMA — Bahrain’s Interior Ministry issued overnight potential-threat and shelter guidance as air-alert sirens sounded early Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026, AFP journalists reported, while Iran claimed kamikaze drone strikes on U.S.-linked facilities at Sheikh Isa (Shaikh Isa) Air Base and Bahrain said its air defenses intercepted and destroyed the drones.

AFP, carried by Namibia’s NAMPA wire, said air-alert sirens rang out early Wednesday as the United States and Iran traded strikes. Bahraini authorities, citing the Interior Ministry on X, called on residents to remain calm and head to the nearest safe place. Anadolu Agency, citing Bahrain’s state news agency BNA and the National Communication Center, later reported that air defenses had responded, destroyed the drones, and remained on a high state of alert.

Iran’s army public-relations office, in statements carried by Roya News and other regional outlets, said the attack was the 29th phase of “Operation Lightning” (also rendered as Thunderbolt / Saeeqah in some translations) and claimed “heavy waves” of destructive drones targeted radar facilities and gathering points for U.S. forces at Sheikh Isa Air Base in southern Bahrain. Tehran framed the strike as retaliation for recent U.S. attacks on southern Iranian territory.

Iranian statements described Sheikh Isa as one of the most important U.S. facilities in the Persian Gulf, used for helicopter and drone-component maintenance and hosting reconnaissance aircraft. The base also supports U.S. Fifth Fleet logistics in the kingdom. Bahrain did not publicly confirm damage or casualties; U.S. Central Command had not issued a matching battle-damage statement on the Bahrain claim at publication time.

The overnight episode follows Tuesday’s CENTCOM announcement that U.S. forces began striking Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targets in Iran, and earlier Iranian strikes toward Jordan and other regional sites. Insanity Developing previously covered the CENTCOM wave here: U.S. forces strike IRGC targets in Iran; Trump warns against retaliation. This piece is a separate overnight Bahrain escalation, not a rewrite of that article.

As of early Wednesday, Bahrain said defenses stayed on high alert and urged the public to follow official channels. Independent confirmation of Iranian claims of successful hits on radar or assembly areas had not been issued by Bahrain or U.S. authorities.

Sources