Iran’s IRGC claims attacks on UAE, Bahrain aluminium facilities

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has said it carried out missile and drone attacks on aluminium facilities in Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.

In a statement carried by Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB overnight on Sunday, the IRGC claimed the sites targeted on Saturday were linked to the United States military.

Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) said in a statement that two employees were injured in the attack on its facility, while the UAE’s Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) said one of its sites in Abu Dhabi suffered significant damage, and six people were injured.

The strikes were retaliation for a US-Israeli attack on Iranian industrial infrastructure launched from military bases hosting US forces in the Gulf states, the IRGC said.

“The significance of this is that of the global aluminium supply, estimates are that between 4 to 9 percent comes from this region … this certainly threatens global supply,” said Al Jazeera’s Zein Basravi, reporting from Dubai.

Since the Middle East war erupted at the end of February, Bahrain and other Gulf countries have regularly been targeted by Iranian missile and drone strikes, with the US-Israel war on Iran now in its fifth week.

‘Very concerning’

Elsewhere, a worker in Oman was ⁠injured in a ⁠drone attack on Saturday at the Gulf country’s Salalah port, while Danish container shipping group ⁠Maersk said ⁠later that it temporarily halted its operations at ‌the port following the assault.

Oman’s Foreign ⁠Ministry on Sunday ⁠condemned the attacks ⁠on its territory, adding ⁠that no party had claimed responsibility.

It said authorities were investigating the ‌attacks’ “sources and motives” without providing further details.

Saudi Arabia’s air defence systems intercepted and destroyed 10 drones over the past hours, the country’s Ministry of Defence said in a statement on Sunday morning. It did not disclose where the interceptions took place.

Also, the Kuwaiti National Guard says it shot down four drones after air raid sirens sounded in the Gulf nation for a second time within hours.

“If Iran continues at this pace by matching attack for attack, that is very concerning, especially since the number of attacks on Iran continues to go up and this conflict continues to escalate,” Al Jazeera’s Basravi noted.

“If there is an escalation in Iran, it is inevitable that there will continue to be escalation in the Gulf Cooperation Council.”