Tensions in the Gulf have flared again after Bahrain accused Iran of launching a drone strike near the U.S. Fifth Fleet headquarters. Tehran says the action was a defensive response to recent U.S. strikes on Iranian military sites, while Washington says its operation was retaliation for an earlier attack near the Strait of Hormuz. The latest exchange has raised fresh concerns about the future of the fragile U.S.-Iran peace process and the risk of wider regional escalation.