DUBAI, Thursday, March 5, 2026 (WNP): A missile strike attributed to Iran hit Bahrain’s largest oil refinery on Thursday, triggering a fire at the state-run Bapco Energies facility and escalating tensions across the Gulf as the regional conflict continues to widen.

Bahraini authorities said the projectile struck a unit of the refinery located in the Ma’ameer industrial area near Manama, causing a blaze that was later brought under control by emergency teams.

Officials confirmed there were no immediate reports of casualties and refinery operations continued while damage assessments were underway.

The targeted facility is Bahrain’s primary oil-refining complex and a central component of the country’s energy infrastructure, processing crude and supplying refined petroleum products for domestic use and export. The strike marked one of the most serious attacks on Gulf energy facilities since the conflict between Iran and the United States-Israel alliance intensified earlier this week.

Bahrain’s National Communication Centre described the incident as the result of an Iranian missile attack and said firefighting teams quickly contained the flames, preventing the damage from spreading to other units of the refinery.

The attack comes amid a broader wave of Iranian missile and drone strikes targeting military installations, oil facilities and shipping routes across the region, including incidents affecting tankers and energy infrastructure in the Gulf. Analysts warn that the escalating conflict could threaten global energy supplies and drive oil prices higher due to the region’s critical role in world petroleum exports.

Since the start of the war, Bahrain has reported intercepting dozens of Iranian missiles and drones aimed at the kingdom and nearby strategic facilities, including areas linked to the United States Fifth Fleet, which maintains a major naval headquarters in the country.

Security experts say the strike on Bahrain’s refining infrastructure underscores the risk that the conflict could spread across the wider Gulf region, where key oil production and shipping lanes—particularly near the Strait of Hormuz—are vital to global energy markets.

Authorities in Bahrain said investigations into the attack and the extent of the damage are continuing.