Israeli emergency responders working at the scene of an Iranian missile strike on a road in Jerusalem on Sunday.Ilan Rosenberg/Reuters
Following the U.S. and Israeli military strike on Iran on Saturday morning, including the killing of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Tehran responded with a wave of retaliatory missile and drone attacks across the Gulf region, home to several U.S. military bases.
United Arab Emirates
In a post on X on Sunday, the United Arab Emirates Defence Ministry said it had so far dealt with 165 ballistic and two cruise missiles and 541 drones launched from Iran. Most of the projectiles were intercepted by air defences, but falling debris caused damage in civilian areas in multiple emirates. The ministry said Sunday three people had been killed.
In Abu Dhabi, the UAE’s capital, debris from an intercepted drone fell on the international airport, killing one person and injuring seven, the airport authority said.
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Debris from a downed drone damaged the Etihad Towers complex, which houses the Israeli embassy in Abu Dhabi, causing minor injuries to a woman and her child, the state media office said on Sunday.
In tourism-hub Dubai, two people were injured after shrapnel from Iranian drones fell over two houses when they were shot down by air defences, Dubai authorities said. Debris from a drone caused a fire at the luxury hotel Burj Al Arab, and the Dubai Media Office said four people were injured by damage at the Dubai International Airport – one of the world’s busiest travel hubs.
Oman
A drone hit the Omani port of Duqm on Sunday, injuring one foreign worker, according to the state news agency. The port has been used by the U.S. Navy as a logistical hub.
Under a 2019 strategic framework agreement between the U.S. and Oman, U.S. naval vessels have been allowed to dock at Duqm and Salalah, both ports on Oman’s Arabian Sea coast. This allows vessels to access the region without transiting the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway between Oman and Iran.
Three commercial vessels around the Strait of Hormuz were attacked on Sunday.
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The U.K. Maritime Trade Operations Centre said one ship caught fire after being struck by an “unknown projectile,” about 17 miles northwest of the UAE. In a separate attack near Oman, four sailors were wounded on an oil tanker on which sanctions had been imposed by the U.S. Treasury in December. Another ship was attacked later, just five nautical miles from Oman, the UKMTO said.
Oman has frequently acted as a bridge between the U.S. and Iran, most recently mediating talks between the two countries in Geneva.
Qatar
At least 16 people were injured in Qatar, the country’s interior ministry said. Its defence ministry said on Sunday that it has intercepted 18 ballistic missiles fired across the country, which hosts a major American air base.
Iranian missiles could be seen being intercepted above Doha on Saturday night and Sunday morning. Qatar’s interior ministry said on Sunday that it was responding to a limited fire in an industrial zone after debris fell from an intercepted missile.
Bahrain
Bahrain, an island nation home to a major U.S. naval base, said a missile attacked the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet headquarters, and three buildings were damaged in the capital, Manama, and Muharraq city. On Sunday, Bahrain said it had shot down 45 missiles and nine drones.
Bahrain’s interior ministry confirmed that the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Manama had been damaged in an attack, but there were no casualties.
Kuwait
Iran fired 97 ballistic missiles and 283 drones at Kuwait, the country’s defence ministry reported on Sunday, adding that “a number of them were destroyed.” One person was killed and more than 30 people were injured, the country’s health ministry said.
The military said in a statement that interception operations led to shrapnel falling in parts of the county, causing “limited damage.” Three Kuwaiti troops were wounded when shrapnel landed in the Ali Al Salem airbase, the military said.
A drone struck the main international airport, injuring nine workers, the country’s state news agency said on Sunday.
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry issued a statement on Saturday that confirmed Iranian attacks on the capital, Riyadh, and the eastern region, which it said were “successfully intercepted.” Intercepted missiles were targeted at Riyadh international airport as well as Prince Sultan Air Base, home to U.S. military personnel.
The statement said the attacks came “despite the Iranian authorities’ knowledge that the Kingdom had affirmed it would not allow its airspace or territory to be used to target Iran.”
Jordan
Jordan, which borders Israel, said it “dealt with” 49 drones and ballistic missiles, and its armed forces shot down missiles targeting its territory.
Iraq
Iranian drones hit the international airport in northern Iraq, which also houses a U.S. military base. The base serves as a hub for American forces and has been a target of frequent attacks from Iran-linked groups in the past.
Four members of the Popular Mobilization Forces of Iraq, a militia group with ties to Iran, were killed in a bombing in the northeastern Iraqi province of Diyala on Sunday, the official Iraqi News Agency reported.
Israel
At least nine people were killed and 28 were injured when buildings collapsed following an Iranian strike in the central city of Beit Shemesh, Israel’s rescue services said.
Israel’s emergency medical services said it was still looking for people trapped under rubble.
Syria
Four people were killed, and others were wounded, when an Iranian missile hit a building in the southern Syrian city of As-Sweida, the Syrian state news agency said.
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