# Iran Says It Struck a US Radar Site in Bahrain and Warns That Bases in Europe Could Be Targets

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps called the strike retaliation for an attack on a telecommunications tower in Hormozgan province, as Tehran warned that any base used to launch new attacks, including in Europe, would be a target.

- Published: 2026-11-13T05:14:08.766Z
- Canonical: https://polylog.news/2026-11-13/iran-says-it-struck-a-us-radar-site-in-bahrain-and-warns-tha
- Publisher: Polylog (Global desk)
- Section: geopolitics
- Sources: [Al Jazeera](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/11/13/iran-says-it-struck-us-radar-site-in-bahrain), [RT](https://rt-english.com/news/648771-iran-claims-strike-us-radar/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS), [The Nation Thailand](https://www.nationthailand.com/news/world/40073441), [Ynet (Hebrew)](https://www.ynet.co.il/news/article/yokra14957192)

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it hit a United States radar site in Bahrain, [Al Jazeera reported](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/11/13/iran-says-it-struck-us-radar-site-in-bahrain) on Friday. The IRGC called the strike retaliation for an air attack by the "enemy" on a telecommunications tower in Hormozgan, Iran's coastal province on the Strait of Hormuz. Russian state broadcaster RT said the claim came [while peace talks were stalled](https://rt-english.com/news/648771-iran-claims-strike-us-radar/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS) and both sides were threatening renewed war. None of the reports reviewed included a US account of damage, and the battle claims of both sides remain unverified.

Tehran also widened its stated target list. Mohsen Rezaei, whom Arab News describes as Iran's security chief, said that if US aircraft take off from a base in a European country to bomb Iran, [Tehran would strike that base too](https://www.arabnews.pk/middle-east/iran-security-chief-threatens-to-strike-us-bases-in-europe-if-used-for-attacks-3006767). The Nation Thailand carried the same [threat against European bases](https://www.nationthailand.com/news/world/40073441). Al-Monitor reported that Iran says it has lifted self-imposed limits on the range of its ballistic missiles. It also reported that Secretary of State Marco Rubio said there was [no need to attack Iran again](https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2026/11/iran-threatens-us-bases-europe-if-washington-resumes-war-what-know), and that Washington has softened its threats since President Trump's party lost the midterm elections.

The two sides' positions do not match. Trump said a deal with Iran was [not needed to end the conflict](https://www.businesstoday.com.my/2026/11/13/oil-set-for-second-weekly-loss-as-us-maintains-blockade-on-iran/), which implies that the US naval blockade stays in place. Iran is applying pressure through small, deniable strikes and threats against third countries that host US forces.

Israel's politics now affect the conflict directly. Ynet reported that opposition parties installed Avigdor Liberman as chair of the Knesset's foreign affairs and defense committee [to oversee decisions on Iran](https://www.ynet.co.il/news/article/yokra14957192), because they fear Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu mixes political considerations into security choices. Netanyahu and the defense minister have delayed convening the committee. They suspect Liberman will use the post to push for a government with the ultra-Orthodox parties.

## What this means

Iran is trying to raise the political cost for European governments that let the US use their territory, without crossing into full-scale war. Its tools are threats and limited strikes on Gulf military infrastructure. The exposed parties are European governments that host US air bases, Gulf states that host US radar and naval assets, and shipping and insurance in the Gulf. Washington's capacity is not in doubt. Its appetite is lower after the midterm defeat, and Rubio's remarks point the same way. The threat against Europe is new, and the market has not priced it as real. It matters less as a military plan than as a test of alliance cohesion: European governments now have a reason to place conditions on US use of their bases, which fits the desk's thesis of weakening alliance cohesion. The desk's read is that low-level exchanges of fire around Hormozgan and the Gulf states hosting US forces will likely continue over the coming weeks, without the full air campaign resuming, while the blockade stays in place and neither side can force a deal. This read is wrong if the US launches broad strikes from European or Gulf bases, or if the blockade is lifted as part of a negotiated settlement.

## What to watch

- Statements from European governments that host US bases on whether they would allow strike missions against Iran. Conditions or refusals would show that Iran's threat is changing allied behavior.
- Whether the US confirms or denies damage in Bahrain. A confirmation would make Iran's retaliation claims more credible to markets.
- Whether the Knesset foreign affairs and defense committee convenes. Liberman's oversight would limit how freely the Israeli government can act against Iran.