by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent
TEHRAN/MANAMA/JERUSALEM (Worthy News) – Iran launched a new wave of drone and missile attacks on Gulf countries Thursday, the 13th day of the United States-Israel war against Tehran, with strikes reported in Bahrain and other states, sending oil prices sharply higher and raising concerns among foreign workers, including Christians.
Authorities in Bahrain reported that fuel tanks were struck in the Muharraq Governorate after incoming drones and missiles targeted the island nation, which hosts the U.S. Navy’s United States Fifth Fleet.
Bahraini officials urged residents Thursday morning to remain indoors and close windows following the attack.
“There is another alert. My goodness. We heard what sounded like bombs nearby,” said Maretis, a Filipino Christian domestic worker living in Bahrain who has been in contact with Worthy News. “I pray, but every night I am not sleeping.”
Witnesses also reported explosions near residential areas, with video circulating online showing smoke rising above parts of the city.
ATTACKS SPREAD ACROSS GULF REGION
The strikes were part of a broader escalation across the Gulf as Iran responded to the ongoing war involving the United States and Israel.
In Saudi Arabia, the Defense Ministry said air defenses intercepted drones heading toward the Shaybah oilfield, one of the country’s key energy installations, as well as toward the diplomatic district.
Officials said at least seven drones were intercepted before reaching the oil facility.
Neighboring Kuwait also reported attacks on its territory. Authorities there said a “hostile drone” struck a residential building, wounding two people and causing property damage.
Debris from intercepted drones damaged six electricity transmission lines, temporarily disrupting parts of the power grid, though officials stressed electricity and water supplies remained under control.
EXPLOSIONS REPORTED IN UAE
Elsewhere, the United Arab Emirates said its air defenses were responding to a missile threat.
Explosions were heard in Dubai, according to witnesses, with smoke seen rising above a residential neighborhood.
Authorities in the capital Abu Dhabi reported a fire at the city’s old airport after air defense systems intercepted incoming targets.
Officials later confirmed the blaze had been brought under control and that no injuries were reported.
Separately, the United Kingdom’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said a container ship about 35 nautical miles north of Jebel Ali in the UAE had come under attack.
WAR DISRUPTS ENERGY AND SHIPPING
The widening conflict has killed more than 2,000 people across the region, most of them in Iran, while roughly two dozen deaths have been reported in Gulf countries hit by Iranian strikes.
The price of Brent crude climbed to around $100 per barrel, roughly 38 percent higher than before the war began.
Energy markets have been rattled further by disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway that normally carries about one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas supplies.
Iran has pledged that “not even a single litre of oil” would be exported from the Gulf to the United States, Israel, or their partners while the war continues.
PORT ATTACKS RAISE SECURITY FEARS
In Iraq, authorities suspended operations at major oil terminals after attacks by explosive-laden boats on two crude-oil tankers that had loaded at the port of Umm Qasr in Basra province.
Rescuers recovered one body and helped 38 survivors after the attack, officials said.
Commercial ports in Iraq remain open, though maritime traffic across the region has slowed sharply amid growing security concerns.
For thousands of foreign workers across the Gulf — including many Christians from Asia and Africa — the expanding conflict has brought rising anxiety.
“We are praying that this war will end soon,” the Filipino Christian worker in Bahrain told Worthy News. “People here are afraid because every night we hear alarms and explosions.”
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