DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – An explosion was heard over Dubai Airport on Saturday followed by a cloud of smoke in the air, a witness told AFP, as Iran pressed attacks across the Gulf.
The Flightradar24 tracking website showed planes circulating above the airport in an apparent holding pattern.
Limited flights resumed from Dubai’s main airport, the world’s busiest for international traffic, on Monday despite daily drone attacks on targets in the United Arab Emirates.
Dubai Media Office described “a minor incident resulting from the fall of debris after an interception” in a post on X, but also denied reports circulating about the airport in the same post.
Four staff were injured and a concourse damaged at Dubai airport last Saturday, as war erupted following US-Israeli strikes against Iran.
Dubai Airports said at the time that the incident was “quickly contained”, without giving further details.
Iranian attacks have also hit Abu Dhabi airport, the upmarket Palm Jumeirah development and the Burj Al Arab luxury hotel, while drone debris caused a fire at the US consulate in Dubai on Tuesday.
Latest developments
Iran says it launched ‘massive’ drone strikes at Israel, US bases
Iran’s army said Saturday its navy had launched a wave of drone attacks targeting Israel as well as US bases in the UAE and Kuwait, as the regional war raged into its second week.
“The Iranian Navy targeted American bases and occupied territories with a massive wave of drone attacks,” the army said in a statement carried by the official IRNA news agency.
It said the targets included the UAE’s Al Minhad base and another in Kuwait, as well as a “strategic facility” in Israel.
Blasts in Dubai, Manama
AFP journalists heard explosions in Dubai and Bahrain’s capital, Manama, on Saturday, one week into Iran’s retaliatory attacks on targets around the Gulf.
A warning siren sounded in Manama, with Bahrain’s interior ministry urging residents in an X post to “head to the nearest safe place”.
US approves weapons to Israel
The US State Department approved the “emergency” sale of 12 000 bomb casings to Israel on Friday as the countries engage Iran in an escalating Middle East war.
“The proposed sale will improve Israel’s capability to meet current and future threats, strengthen its homeland defense, and serve as a deterrent to regional threats,” the State Department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs said.
Clashes on Lebanon-Syria border
Lebanese official media said on Saturday that clashes had erupted on the Lebanon-Syria border as Israel attempted a landing operation, with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah saying its fighters were involved.
Israel has sent troops into Lebanon since Tehran-backed Hezbollah fired missiles at Israel on Monday to avenge the killing of Khamenei.
Saudi Arabia intercepts attacks
Saudi Arabia’s defense ministry said Saturday it intercepted a ballistic missile fired at an air base which houses US military personnel, as Iran pressed attacks across the Gulf.
The oil-rich nation’s state news agency said it thwarted a drone attack on an oilfield near the Emirati border, following at least two reported drone attacks earlier this week that targeted the Ras Tanura refinery in the east.
Israel launches ‘broad-scale’ strikes
The Israeli military said Saturday it had launched a “broad-scale wave of strikes” on targets in Tehran, as the Iranian state broadcaster reported an explosion in the western part of the capital.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said earlier it had detected another round of Iranian missiles headed towards Israel after a series of explosions were heard in the Israeli commercial hub of Tel Aviv following the Iranian launches.
Russia feeds Iran intel, US ‘aware’
The White House downplayed a report Friday that Russia was helping Iran target US forces in the Middle East, with Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth telling CBS News’s 60 Minutes program that “our commanders are aware of everything.”
The Washington Post, citing officials familiar with the intelligence, said Russia has provided Iran with the locations of US military assets, including ships and aircraft.
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