US, Israel trade attacks with Iran, throwing West Asia, world into disarray

Iran strikes Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Doha and Riyadh after US-Israel attack; American military bases targeted across the Gulf

Iran launched a second round of missile attacks aimed at Israel late Saturday, according to the Israeli military, suggesting no let-up in hostilities after a joint Israel-US strike targeted Iran earlier in the day. Israel, too, continued to carry out strikes against Iran, particularly missile launchers.

 

According to sources quoted by Reuters, Israel believes its attacks Saturday morning may have claimed the lives of several senior Iranian officials, including the Iranian defence minister Amir Nasirzadeh and the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), Mohammed Pakpour. 

 

An Israeli military official was quoted as saying that Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and President Pezeshkian, besides essential personnel, were targeted in the first round of attacks. However, the results of the strike were still unclear and Israeli military was still trying to determine the success of those strikes.

 

 

Meanwhile, Israel has shut down its gas fields following the strikes, the country's energy ministry said late Saturday. The ministry has ordered the temporary shutdown of parts of the country's natural gas reservoirs after the strikes. The Leviathan gas field offshore Israel, operated by Chevron has been shut down, Reuters quoted sources as saying. Energean production vessel, that serves several Israeli fields, has also been shut down, the company said in a statement, Reuters reported.

 

Earlier in the day, Iran launched missile strikes across the region, striking Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Doha in Qatar, and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia condemns strikes

Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry said there had been “blatant and cowardly Iranian attacks” on Riyadh and in the kingdom’s eastern oil-producing province.

 

The ministry said the strikes took place despite Saudi Arabia’s earlier statement that it would not allow its airspace or territory to be used to target Iran.

 

Following Iran's strikes against both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates - which have recently been at diplomatic loggerheads - the former's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman called UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to discuss the attacks on countries in the region and expressed solidarity, the UAE state news agency reported.

Civilian casualty in Abu Dhabi

The UAE’s Ministry of Defence said a civilian of Asian nationality was killed after “the fall of some missile debris in a residential area” in Abu Dhabi.

 

“Such acts constitute a dangerous escalation and a cowardly act that threatens the safety of civilians and undermines stability,” the ministry said in a statement.

 

Dubai suspended all flight operations at Dubai International Airport and Dubai World Central – Al Maktoum International, according to the city’s airport authority. Dubai International ranks among the busiest airports globally, handling between 2,000 and 2,500 flights daily, according to Skyscanner.

 

Air India and IndiGo flights from India were also diverted following airspace closures.

US facilities targeted

Iran’s semiofficial Fars news agency reported that missile attacks targeted US military facilities across the region, including Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait, Al Dhafra Air Base in the UAE and the US Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain.

 

Iran also launched missiles towards Israel, according to the Israeli military. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said there were no backchannel negotiations under way to end hostilities with the United States and Israel.

 

“If the Americans want to talk to us, they know how they can contact me,” Araghchi said in an interview with NBC News.

Gulf leaders react

UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed spoke by telephone with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman after the strikes, according to UAE state media.

 

Prince Mohammed told the Emirati leader that Saudi Arabia would be “placing all its capabilities at its disposal” to support the Emirates. Relations between the two countries had faced strain in recent months.

 

Earlier on Saturday, the United States and Israel launched coordinated strikes on Iran. Reports of casualty after a trike on school has surfaced, several reports said, and Araghchi in one of his posts on X mentioned.

 

US President Donald Trump said the United States had begun “major combat operations in Iran”, and the Pentagon named the campaign “Operation Epic Fury”. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the action as a “joint operation” intended to confront what he called an “existential threat” from Iran.