Attacks hit UAE after Iran blames it for strikes

Missiles and drones rained on the United Arab Emirates on Monday (16 March), killing one civilian, disrupting the world's busiest airport and sparking a fire at a crucial oil hub.

Iran has kept up strikes on the UAE since war erupted in the Middle East, disrupting commercial air travel and targeting energy installations on both sides of the Strait of Hormuz.

The attacks have piled economic pressure on the oil-rich country, which also serves as a hub for international travel.

In the usually quiet northern emirate of Umm Al Quwain, a drone attack damaged an unspecified building but inflicted no casualties, authorities said.

The slew of attacks came a day after Tehran's top diplomat, Abbas Araghchi, said that US bases in the Middle East had been used to launch air raids and that missiles had been fired from the UAE to strike Iran's Kharg Island. UAE officials have denied the claim.

In the eastern emirate of Fujairah, a drone attack on oil infrastructure sparked a fire, authorities said, reporting no injuries and adding that "efforts continue to bring it under control".

The blaze came days after an AFP journalist saw smoke rising from a major energy installation in Fujairah.

A pipeline to the emirate allows a large proportion of the country's oil exports to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway shut by Iran in response to US-Israeli attacks that sparked the war.

The UAE's state-owned oil giant ADNOC has halted the loading of oil into storage tanks at their Fujairah facility, a source with knowledge of the operations told AFP, following repeated strikes on the energy installation there.

"ADNOC oil loading at Fujairah is suspended," the source told AFP.

A Palestinian civilian was killed on the outskirts of the Emirati capital Abu Dhabi when a missile hit a car, the state media office said.

The UAE has reported seven deaths since the war began, including five civilians and two military personnel, who died in a helicopter crash blamed on a technical malfunction.

'Regular explosions'

Dubai Airports said earlier that flights were gradually resuming at the world's busiest international hub, following a nearby fuel tank fire sparked by a "drone-related incident".

The airport has been targeted by several attacks since Iran began its Gulf campaign.

Two witnesses told AFP they saw a thick plume of black smoke rising from the direction of the airport around 10am (0600 GMT), hours after the attacks.

A witness at the airport said that passengers awaiting their flights had been evacuated to a lower floor for several hours after the attack.

"It has been a difficult few weeks hearing explosions regularly, but the Iranian attacks followed me in my last hours before I could fly back home," the witness told AFP.

Iran has fired more than 1,900 missiles and drones at the United Arab Emirates, more than any other country targeted by Tehran since the start of the Middle East war.

The strikes have upended travel plans in the financial hub, despite its air defence intercepting the vast majority of projectiles.

Tehran has taken aim at US assets in the Gulf countries, as well as civilian infrastructure, including landmarks, airports, ports and oil facilities.

AFP journalists also heard explosions in the Qatari capital Doha, where foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari told reporters that talks with Iran were only possible if it stops its Gulf attacks.

Neighbouring Saudi Arabia's defence ministry also reported intercepting more than 60 drones since midnight on Monday in the east of the country.

Qatar said later that it was targeted by 14 missiles and a number of drones launched from Iran on Monday, adding that it intercepted all but one missile, which "landed in an uninhabited area without causing any losses".

Meanwhile, Bahrain said it has intercepted 350 Iranian missiles and drones since the start of the war.