IRGC Says It Targeted US Radar in Bahrain, LNG Tanker Exploded in Hormuz

Key Facts

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Friday, November 13, 2026, that it had targeted a US early-warning radar in Bahrain, its first such claim since early September, Reuters reported. The announcement put a US military asset in a Gulf state within the sphere of declared escalation, while the United States and Bahrain had made no immediate comment on the account at the time of publication. The Guard said the targeting was in response to what it described as an airstrike on a communications tower in Sirik County in Iran’s southern Hormozgan province, according to Iranian state media. Reuters described the confrontation as being in a fragile lull in a conflict that began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, 2026. The announcement thus combined claims of targeting the radar with retaliation for a strike the Guard said had hit communications infrastructure inside Iran.

In a separate development in the same corridor, the IRGC navy said an LNG tanker struck a sea mine and exploded in the Strait of Hormuz on Friday. It added that the tanker was taking what it described as an “unauthorized and dangerous” route, Reuters reported. No details about the vessel were immediately available, and the report contained no independent confirmation that the incident occurred or of the cause of the explosion. The account of a mine and the route therefore remained attributed to the Iranian navy, with no information on the tanker’s name, the extent of the damage or the fate of its crew. The claim comes as the strategic corridor continues to see incidents affecting ship traffic, amid differing Iranian accounts of events reported by maritime authorities.

In an earlier report published on November 12, Reuters said Iran’s military had reported that four oil tankers were hit by explosions in the strait, but the agency said it could not immediately verify the Iranian account. Data from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy cited by Reuters indicate that at least 10 vessels were hit during the first 10 days of November. That followed 37 attacks recorded in October, the highest monthly total since the conflict began in late February. In a separate incident reported by Reuters, the UKMTO said a vessel was hit by an unknown projectile about 14 nautical miles northwest of Ras Al Khaimah as it left the strait, sparking a fire in the engine room. All crew members were evacuated, while the report of an unknown projectile does not substantiate the account that the LNG tanker struck a mine.

Despite continued reports of attacks, Reuters said tanker traffic through the strait had recovered and expectations of de-escalation were reflected in lower oil prices. In Friday trading at 0527 GMT, Brent crude futures fell 28 cents, or 0.29%, to $95.54 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate fell 56 cents, or 0.63%, to $88.18. Brent was heading for a weekly decline of 2.9%, after falling 16% the previous week, Reuters reported. The agency attributed the price decline to expectations that Washington would rely more heavily on sanctions and restrictions on oil shipping rather than escalating military operations. It noted, however, that continued disruption to supplies through Hormuz could quickly put upward pressure on prices again.

The UKMTO urged vessels to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity as authorities continue investigating recorded maritime incidents. Its advisory followed the November 11 incident, when a tanker was hit by an unknown projectile 14 nautical miles northwest of Ras Al Khaimah at 1800 UTC. The UKMTO said the crew had been safely evacuated and no injuries were reported, and that firefighting efforts were ongoing at the time of the advisory. The claims of a radar strike and an LNG tanker explosion remain the focus of developments announced on Friday, while there was no immediate US or Bahraini comment on the former and no details were available on the latter. The published maritime guidance urges vessels to exercise caution and report incidents while investigations continue.