NYT: Ballistic missiles launched from Bahrain toward Iran VIDEO

A verification conducted by The New York Times shows that ballistic missiles were launched from Bahrain toward Iran, according to a report published by the newspaper on March 13.

The article suggests this may be the first confirmed case of attacks on the Islamic Republic originating from the territory of a Persian Gulf country since the beginning of the conflict. Bahrain hosts the headquarters of the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet. The newspaper notes that the available video footage does not allow a definitive conclusion on whether the missiles were launched by U.S. forces or by Bahrain. However, defence experts who analysed the footage said that at least one of the missiles appears to have been fired using American equipment.

Iran had previously launched thousands of missiles and drones toward Gulf states, accusing them of allowing their territory to be used for U.S. military operations. Most countries in the region rejected those accusations, stating they would not permit their territory to be used for attacks against Iran. Bahrain has also stressed that its armed forces were not involved in offensive operations.

A video published on March 7 and filmed near a residential area and an airport in northern Bahrain shows two missiles being launched into the sky, leaving white smoke trails and flying northeast over the sea toward Iran.

“The first missile’s launcher is obscured by a building, but as a second missile rises into the sky, its trail points to a second launcher that is positioned nearby. That launcher is a US-made M142 HIMARS truck,” the newspaper quoted national security analyst Wes J. Bryant and missile specialist Fabian Hoffmann of the University of Oslo as saying.

The U.S. Army has stated that it is using HIMARS in the conflict with Iran. This week, U.S. Central Command published a photograph of a HIMARS system deployed at an undisclosed desert location, saying the launchers “provide unrivaled deep-strike capability in combat against the Iranian regime.”

The kingdom has so far refrained from commenting on whether it would allow the United States to carry out attacks on Iran from its territory. The government did not respond to the newspaper’s email inquiry about whether the footage shows U.S. actions in Bahrain.

On March 12, a Pentagon spokesperson declined to comment on the launch of short-range ballistic missiles toward Iran from Bahrain.

By Jeyhun Aghazada