Bahrain's aluminum producer confirms Iranian attack on facilities

Aluminium Bahrain, also known as Alba, confirmed early Sunday that its facilities were targeted in an Iranian attack a day earlier, Bahrain's state news agency reported.

Alba said two people were mildly injured in the attack, adding that it was assessing damage in the facilities.

The confirmation comes after Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they targeted Alba in response to attacks on Iranian steel plants. The IRGC said, without elaborating, that the company had ties to US military and aeronautics firms.

Reuters could not independently verify the IRGC's claims.

Alba had initiated earlier in March a shutdown of three aluminium smelting lines accounting for 19 per cent of its capacity to preserve business continuity amid ongoing ​disruption in the Strait of Hormuz. It followed a force majeure by the company on March 4 since it was unable to ship metal to customers due to the closure of the strategic strait.

The closures are the latest impact ​on the Middle East aluminium sector, which accounts for around 9 per cent ⁠of global supply, from the US-Israeli war on Iran. The Emirates Global Aluminium was also targeted in the strikes.

Separately, Bahrain's Foulath Holding, the parent company of Bahrain Steel, declared on Saturday a force majeure on its operations due to the regional conflict and "associated security and logistical disruptions".

It said the situation in the region has "created circumstances beyond the group's control that have impacted operations and logistics across parts of the group's business," without providing details on the size of the impact.