Manama — Bahrain’s capital has been hurled into chaos after Iran launched a massive “drone‑missile tsunami” at a major US Army base, in a coordinated strike that briefly froze air‑defence systems and left parts of Manama burning.

Witnesses near the waterfront installation reported a low mechanical buzz building into a roar as dozens of kamikaze drones swarmed in from the sea, followed seconds later by volleys of cruise and short‑range ballistic missiles. For several crucial moments, radar screens at the base and nearby Bahraini batteries flickered and went dark, as what officials now suspect was a sophisticated Iranian cyberattack severed links between sensors and interceptors.

Explosions ripped through maintenance hangars, fuel depots and housing blocks inside the US compound, sending fireballs into the night sky. Shockwaves shattered windows across central Manama; at least one shopping mall and several residential towers caught fire from falling debris. Hospitals have declared a mass‑casualty emergency as ambulances and private cars race the wounded to overcrowded ERs.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is hailing the operation as “decisive punishment on the Americans’ doorstep,” boasting that its drones “paralyzed the enemy shield” before missiles delivered “crushing blows.”

US Central Command insists defences recovered within minutes and intercepted later waves, but admits to “significant losses” and vows a “swift, devastating response” against Iranian launch sites and command nodes.

For Bahrain — long a low‑profile host of US power — the message is brutal: in the new Iran war, there is no clear line between foreign base and local city. When the air defences freeze, Manama itself becomes the battlefield.