UAE closes then reopens airspace as Israel strikes Iran, Lebanon

Airspace closure in the UAE amid incoming fire

The United Arab Emirates briefly shut down its airspace early Tuesday after its military reported it was responding to missile and drone threats from Iran, and then lifted the closure soon afterward. State-run WAM news agency quoted the UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority as saying the situation stabilized, allowing flights to resume.

After the closure, authorities sent a missile warning alert to people in Dubai, and explosions were heard over the city as the UAE worked to intercept incoming fire. WAM later said a drone attack again sparked a fire in an oil tank farm in Fujairah, another UAE emirate that has repeatedly been targeted on the country’s east coast.

Officials said no one was injured in the Fujairah blast. The UAE’s snap airspace announcement reflected the balancing act Emirati authorities face as they try to keep long-haul airlines Emirates and Etihad operating while Iranian attacks continue to target parts of the country, including infrastructure.

Israel reports wider strikes on Iran and Lebanon

Israel’s military said early Tuesday it had begun a “wide-scale wave of strikes” across Iran’s capital. It also said it was stepping up strikes on Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.

Israel reported two incoming salvos from Iran early Tuesday, and in Israel it said an intercepted Iranian missile attack sprayed shrapnel through Jerusalem’s Old City. The shrapnel hit 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, the AP reported, noting that missile strikes on Jerusalem have been rare in the past. Israel also reported two Iranian salvos fired toward Tel Aviv and an area south of the Sea of Galilee, and said no injuries were reported.

In Lebanon, the AP reported that the Israeli strikes have displaced more than 1 million people, about 20% of the population, according to the Lebanese government. The government also said some 850 people have been killed.

Death tolls cited by Iranian and Israeli officials

The Iranian Red Crescent said more than 1,300 people have been killed in Iran, the AP reported. In Israel, the AP said 12 people have been killed by Iranian missile fire.

The report also said at least 13 U.S. military members have been killed. In separate comments, Israeli military spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said Israel has carried out some 7,600 strikes on Iran, knocking out 85% of its air defenses and 70% of its missile launchers.

Iran’s foreign minister rejects negotiations on war’s end

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Tuesday that the Strait of Hormuz was open “from our perspective,” but only not for the United States, Israel and their allies. He also rejected as “delusional” claims that Iran was looking for a negotiated end to the war.

The AP reported that since the United States and Israel attacked Iran more than two weeks ago, Tehran has repeatedly fired drones and missiles at Israel, American bases in the region, and Gulf Arab countries’ energy infrastructure.

U.S. and allies weigh steps to protect shipping

As Iranian strikes on commercial ships in and around the Strait of Hormuz have slowed shipping, the AP reported that energy prices have risen and consumers and the global economy have faced new pressure. The report said Brent crude remained over $100 a barrel, and that prices were about 40% higher since the war began.

U.S. President Donald Trump said he had demanded roughly a half-dozen countries send warships to help keep the strait open, but his appeals had not brought immediate commitments, the AP reported. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Trump may postpone his long-anticipated trip to China this month.

Fatih Birol, head of the International Energy Agency, said its 32 member countries still had additional reserves of 1.4 billion barrels on top of the record 400 million they agreed to release last week to address supply constraints. Adm. Brad Cooper, the top U.S. military commander in the Middle East, said in a video posted on X that American forces were zeroing in on Iran’s threats to freighters carrying oil and natural gas.

Europe, Britain discuss options; Japan, Australia decline

Ahead of a meeting in Brussels, European Union 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 said Italy favors strengthening anti-piracy and defensive missions in the Red Sea, but not expanding their role in the strait.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Britain and allies were working on a plan to reopen the strait and that Britain might deploy mine-hunting U.K. drones already in the region. He insisted the country “will not be drawn into the wider war,” the AP reported.

Japan and Australia said Monday they had not been asked to help protect the strait and had no current plans to do so, according to the report.

UAE reports casualties and fires from strikes

The Abu Dhabi media office said a person was killed in the UAE capital when an Iranian missile hit a vehicle. The AP reported that drone strikes Monday caused fires at two UAE oil facilities, in Abu Dhabi and in Fujairah.

The UAE’s brief airspace closure and subsequent reopening underscored the regionwide risk to aviation and energy infrastructure as Israel’s attacks on Iran and Hezbollah continued, while Iranian fire affected both military targets and shipping lanes through the Strait of Hormuz.