Two Bahrain Hotels Hit by Missile Attack as Saudi Arabia and Qatar Claim to Have Intercepted Drones Linked to Iran

The Bahraini government reported an air strike on two hotels and a residential building in its territory. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia and Qatar said they successfully intercepted missile and drone attacks in their airspace. The Bahraini Interior Ministry said the new strike targeted two hotels and a residential building in Manama, linking it to Iran. It posted on X that the attack had caused financial losses but there were no casualties. Earlier this week, a U.S. Navy base in Bahrain was also targeted by Iranian missiles. Iran has not commented on the news, but hours earlier announced the start of a new round of missile and drone attacks and said it had used the Khaybar missile. The Qatari Defence Ministry said its air force had successfully intercepted a drone attack aimed at Ad-Dh, Al Udeid Air Base, the largest U.S. military base in the Middle East. Previously the Qatari authorities had issued security alerts via mobile phones nationwide, urging citizens to stay away from windows and open spaces.

In a separate report, President Donald Trump said he should have a direct role in choosing Iran’s new leader. BBC Persian reported that Trump again urged Iranian soldiers to lay down their weapons. Trump also suggested Iranian diplomats seek protection in the countries where they served. From Iran, air strikes continued, with military and government targets being hit by Israel and the U.S. On Thursday, one stadium in the Azadi sports complex was targeted in bombing. The World Health Organization: 13 medical facilities in Iran destroyed. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, said he had confirmed that ‘There have been 13 attacks on health facilities in Iran and one attack in Lebanon.’ He did not specify who was responsible, but said: ‘Under international humanitarian law, health services and facilities must be protected and must not be targeted.’ A few days earlier, photos and videos showed extensive damage at Gandhi Tehran Hospital, leading to the relocation of all patients treated there.

Evacuation of the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait. According to BBC partner network in the U.S., the United States has ordered evacuation of its embassy in Kuwait. The evacuation is scheduled for Thursday night to Friday, with embassy staff ordered to destroy information and erase confidential data, according to two U.S. officials to CBS News.

AFP via Getty Images: Black smoke rose from the U.S. embassy in Kuwait City on 2 March after the latest Iranian attack. The evacuation order was issued after Kuwait’s military said its air defences had intercepted a missile attack entering its airspace. A Kuwaiti military spokesperson wrote on X: ‘The intercept operation caused several missile fragments to fall, causing limited material damage, including damage to a car, and there were no casualties.’

U.S. submarine sinks Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean. U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth claimed that a U.S. submarine had sunk ‘an Iranian warship’ in the Indian Ocean. He said the ship felt secure in international waters but was struck by a torpedo. He did not name the ship. However Sri Lanka’s Navy had previously reported that the IRIS Dena sank in the Indian Ocean; around 140 people were missing. Reuters: Iranian warship, IRIS Dena, was observed docking at Rio de Janeiro port in February 2023. ‘This is not a balanced fight,’ Hegseth said, adding that the United States is ‘pummelling Iran while they are down.’ ‘A bigger wave is coming. We are only just getting started.’ On Wednesday (04/03), Sri Lanka’s Navy said it had rescued 32 people after receiving a distress call from the Iranian Navy’s IRIS Dena. Sri Lanka Navy spokesperson Budhika Sampath said: ‘Even though outside our territorial waters, the area remains within our Search and Rescue zone. We are obliged to respond under international obligations.’ He added: ‘We found people adrift at sea, rescued them, and later learned they were from the Iranian vessel.’ According to the ship’s documents, about 180 people were aboard. Sampath said that during the rescue operation they no longer saw the ship, which appeared only as an oil slick and lifeboats. ‘We only saw a few lifeboats. No Iranian ship was visible. The vessel had sunk,’ he told BBC Sinhala. He emphasised to BBC that reports the ship sank due to a submarine attack were false. The cause is unknown.

Earlier, Sri Lanka’s Defence Secretary, Air Vice-Marshal Sampath Thuiyakontha, told BBC Sinhala that about 140 people are believed still missing. The incident followed U.S. and Israel strikes on Iran on Saturday (28/02). The death toll in Iran stands at 787, according to the Red Crescent.

CIA station in Saudi Arabia hit by drone, according to U.S. media. A CIA facility at the U.S. embassy in Saudi Arabia was reportedly struck by a drone on Monday. The United States and Saudi Arabia have confirmed that two drones hit the embassy complex in Riyadh.