US May Move Gulf Bases to Israel

The United States is considering relocating some of its Gulf bases damaged by Iranian attacks to Israel. According to a Wall Street Journal investigation, repeated missile and drone strikes against the naval base in Bahrain, home to the US Fifth Fleet, caused extensive damage to critical infrastructure between late February and June.

Two officials cited in the report suggest Washington could reduce its presence in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia and move some facilities to Israel. On Saturday, Iran launched drone attacks against Bahrain, which condemned the action as a violation of its sovereignty.

Tehran claimed it struck targets linked to US forces in response to US bombings on Friday against Iranian missile storage and coastal radar sites. Iran's Foreign Ministry called the US strikes an explicit violation of the memorandum of understanding signed this month to end hostilities for 60 days.

Meanwhile, US Central Command justified its strikes as a response to an Iranian drone attack on a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz. The exchange of accusations threatens to unravel the fragile ceasefire that had largely ended fighting in the Middle East.