type: timeline_event
On March 9, 2026 -- Day 10 of Operation Epic Fury -- Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched what Iranian state media called its 37th wave of retaliatory missile and drone attacks against U.S. military installations and Gulf nation infrastructure. The sustained campaign represented one of the most extensive uses of ballistic and cruise missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles by any state actor in modern warfare.
Key strikes on March 9 included: an Iranian UAV striking the Millennium Tower in Manama, Bahrain's capital business district; an Iranian UAV damaging the Bapco national oil refinery in Bahrain, prompting the state company to declare force majeure on oil shipments; six UAVs launched toward Kuwait, with five intercepted and one striking aviation fuel storage tanks at Kuwait International Airport; and Iran claiming strikes on the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar and the U.S. Navy Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain.
Gulf air defense systems, supported by U.S. THAAD and Patriot batteries, intercepted approximately 94 percent of incoming projectiles. However, the volume and variety of Iranian attack drones -- including Shahed-136 loitering munitions, Arash-2 long-range drones, and Fattah-1 hypersonic missiles -- were placing significant strain on U.S. and allied interceptor stockpiles, according to Bloomberg's reporting based on defense officials who spoke anonymously.
Bahrain declared a national emergency in response to the refinery strike. Oil prices climbed back above $100 per barrel on March 9 amid the attacks and concerns about Strait of Hormuz transit. Iran's Bahrain offensive was particularly significant given Bahrain hosts the U.S. Fifth Fleet, which coordinates all U.S. naval operations in the Middle East and Central Asia.