Iran’s army said in a statement early on the 17th that it carried out Phase 11
of "Operation Lightning" several hours earlier, striking military facilities at
the US Sheikh Isa Air Base in Bahrain with "Arash" suicide drones. The statement
said targets included areas hosting US helicopters and deployments of P-8
reconnaissance aircraft, and described the action as retaliation for recent US
strikes on Iranian urban infrastructure that caused civilian casualties.
