Bahrain shoots down 74 missiles and 95 drones with air defences

Middle Eastern outlets describe Iran’s attacks on Bahrain and the UAE as a deliberate campaign to hit US-linked assets, including cloud data centres and energy facilities. They stress that Bahrain’s air defences have intercepted most incoming missiles and drones but that strikes on a hotel, homes, an oil refinery and Amazon sites show how exposed Gulf states and foreign companies are. They expect Gulf governments to deepen security ties with the US and regional partners while weighing how far to respond directly to Iran.

• •Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is directing missile and drone strikes at Amazon Web Services facilities in Bahrain and the UAE because those centres support US military operations.
• •Bahrain’s air defences have neutralised more than 70 Iranian missiles and over 100 drones since the start of the confrontation.
• •An Iranian missile strike caused a fire at Bahrain’s Bapco refinery that authorities later brought under control.
• •Iranian drones and missiles have hit a hotel and residential buildings in Bahrain, showing that urban areas are at risk.
• •Gulf governments are likely to seek stronger air defence cooperation with the United States and neighbouring states after these attacks.