Bahrain's Alba confirms Iranian attack on its facilities
March 29 (Reuters) - Aluminium Bahrain ALBH.BH, 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 and Emirates Global Aluminium in response to attacks on two Iranian steel plants. The IRGC said, without elaborating, that the two companies had ties to U.S. 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% 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% of global supply, from the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.
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.
