The early Tuesday explosions over Dubai came as the United Arab Emirates moved to protect its airspace amid incoming Iranian fire, according to the UAE military and state media. The UAE shut down airspace early in the morning, then lifted the closure after authorities said the situation stabilized and flights could resume, the state-run WAM news agency reported.
Israel meanwhile reported that it had begun a “wide-scale wave of strikes” across Iran’s capital and was also stepping up strikes on Hezbollah militants in Lebanon, describing the moves as part of the broader escalation after the United States and Israel attacked Iran more than two weeks ago.
The episode highlighted the challenge for Emirati authorities to keep international aviation operating while Iran-linked threats continued to target parts of the country. WAM said a drone attack again sparked a fire in an oil tank farm in Fujairah, one of the UAE emirates on the country’s east coast near the Gulf of Oman, and that no one was injured.
The same pattern has appeared in recent days, with the UAE reporting an earlier Iranian drone attack that set a fuel tank ablaze at Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest for international travel. On Tuesday, authorities also issued a missile warning alert to people in Dubai shortly after the airspace closure, as explosions could be heard while the UAE military worked to intercept incoming fire.
In Lebanon, Israel’s strikes were directed at Hezbollah, which began firing rockets into northern Israel after U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran began Feb. 28, the report said. The Lebanese government said the fighting has displaced more than 1 million people, about 20% of the population, and that some 850 people have been killed.
In Israel, the report said intercepted Iranian missile fire hit multiple areas, including Jerusalem’s Old City, where shrapnel struck the rooftop of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate near the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Shrapnel also fell near the Western Wall and within the Al Aqsa Mosque compound; Israeli officials said missile strikes on Jerusalem have been rare in the past.
More broadly, the report said Israeli strikes also included two incoming Iranian salvos early Tuesday toward Tel Aviv and an area south of the Sea of Galilee, with no injuries reported. In Iran, the Iranian Red Crescent reported that more than 1,300 people have been killed.
A key focus for Washington and allies has been whether the Strait of Hormuz—through which a fifth of the world’s oil normally travels—can remain open for shipping amid the war. The report said Iranian strikes on commercial ships in and around the strait have slowed traffic to a trickle, increasing oil prices and driving concerns about impacts on food supplies and the global economy.
Brent crude remained over $100 a barrel, and the report said Trump told reporters he had demanded roughly a half-dozen countries send warships to keep the Strait of Hormuz open. The White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, also told reporters that Trump may postpone his long-anticipated trip to China this month.
Officials in Europe and the region have discussed possible maritime measures amid the disruption. Ahead of a meeting in Brussels, the European Union’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the bloc would discuss possibly extending a naval mission that protects ships in the Red Sea to the Strait of Hormuz, without giving details.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told reporters in Brussels that Italy favors strengthening anti-piracy and defensive missions in the Red Sea but not expanding their role in the Strait of Hormuz, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Britain and allies were working on a plan to reopen the strait while insisting his country “will not be drawn into the wider war.” Japan and Australia said Monday they had not been asked to help protect the strait and had no current plans to do so.
In comments about the strait itself, Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi rejected claims that Iran was seeking a negotiated end to the war and said, “From our perspective it is open” — adding it was not open for the United States, Israel and their allies. The report said Iranian attacks continued in the weeks after the initial U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran, including drones and missiles aimed at Israel, American bases in the region and Gulf Arab energy infrastructure.