Bahrain intercepts Iranian drone attack on US air base

Bahrain intercepted an Iranian drone attack on Sunday for the second time in two days after not having been targeted since September.“The U.S. air defense radar system at the Al-Riffa helicopter base in Bahrain was targeted by six drones belonging to the [Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps] Aerospace Force,” the IRGC said in a statement provided by state media. The Bahraini Defense Ministry said it intercepted “several aerial attacks,” and no injuries or damage were reported.An early-warning radar facility had also been targeted unsuccessfully by the terrorist-sponsoring regime on Friday, as the U.S. military said it intercepted the drones without damage. The increased aggression comes as peace talks between the U.S. and Iran have largely stalled. President Donald Trump said last week, “We don’t need a deal with Iran,” and “those days have passed,” while saying he was directing Vice President JD Vance to stop engaging in peace talks and spend more time focusing on domestic fraud. Trump has repeatedly threatened to escalate over the last few months, but has largely chosen to prioritize a sanctions and economic pressure campaign against the regime.U.S. forces completed limited defensive strikes on Qeshm Island and another small island in the Strait of Hormuz earlier this month. Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, and Egypt all condemned Iran’s Sunday attack. The U.S. naval blockade of Iran is still intact and was recently expanded to target ground transit routes as well.The conflict, which began in February, emerged as the central theme of the midterm elections. Disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz have kept inflation stubbornly high, though the Trump administration has said the conflict is worth it to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, and that the long-term objectives of the conflict will outweigh the short-term price effects.REPUBLICANS UNWILLING TO FORCE AN END TO IRAN WAR DESPITE MIDTERM BEATINGTrump travels to Asia early this week for a historic three-way meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The USS Theodore Roosevelt will arrive in the Middle East “within the next day,” a U.S. military official told the New York Times Sunday.Several high-ranking Cabinet members are living in secure military bases in the Washington, D.C., region in response to Iranian threats. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Friday he would not be “cowered” by the Iranian regime’s rhetoric.