Both Bahrain and Washington have blamed an Iranian drone attack for the March 9 blast, which the Gulf kingdom said injured 32 people including children, some seriously. Commenting on the day of the attack, U.S. Central Command said on X that an Iranian drone struck a residential neighborhood in Bahrain. In a statement, a Bahraini government spokesperson said the missile successfully intercepted an Iranian drone mid-air, saving lives. Neither Bahrain or Washington has provided evidence that an Iranian drone was involved in the Mahazza incident. Reuters could not independently verify the presence or not of an Iranian drone during the incident.

Source: The Star March 22, 2026 16:44 UTC