Iranian strikes force closure of Saudi–Bahrain King Fahd causeway

ALBAWABA- Saudi authorities suspended traffic on the King Fahd Causeway early Tuesday, severing the only road link between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain after Iranian missile strikes targeted the kingdom’s Eastern Province. 

The 25-kilometre bridge, a key artery for trade, travel, and logistics, was closed as a precaution following ballistic missile strikes on a major petrochemical complex in Jubail operated by Saudi Basic Industries Corporation.

The causeway authority announced the suspension on social media, citing Iranian attacks in the region. The move came hours after overnight strikes on Jubail’s industrial facilities, where explosions and fires were reported, and shortly before a midnight deadline set by Donald Trump for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face further attacks on its power infrastructure.

Bahrain, which hosts the headquarters of the United States Fifth Fleet, and Saudi Arabia, home to the strategically important Prince Sultan Air Base, were temporarily cut off by land. 

The causeway is the only direct road connection between the island nation and the Arabian Peninsula, making its closure a significant disruption to both civilian and military movement amid the 39-day Israel-Iran conflict.

Iran has framed its strikes on Saudi targets as retaliation for recent US and Israeli operations, including attacks on Iranian railway lines, bridges, and the Kharg Island oil terminal. 

Tehran has repeatedly warned that any strikes on its infrastructure would trigger retaliation against power plants and water desalination facilities across the Gulf, assets critical to regional energy security and water supply.

The episode underscores Iran’s strategy of targeting assets linked to US military presence in the Gulf, while maintaining control over the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly one-fifth of global oil flows, as leverage to press for an end to hostilities.