Kuwait’s airport, Saudi Arabia targeted as Iran presses Gulf attacks

2026-03-08 - 02:13

Saudi Arabia’s defence ministry said Sunday it had intercepted and destroyed 15 drones that entered the kingdom’s airspace. (EPA Images pic) DUBAI: Gulf nations reported on Sunday missile and drone attacks while Iran vowed to press on with strikes against neighbouring countries as the regional war entered its second week. Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait all reported new attacks after loud explosions were heard in Dubai and Bahrain’s Manama a day earlier, and Kuwait’s national oil company announced a “precautionary” cut to production. Qatar’s defence ministry said on Sunday that the country was targeted a day earlier by 10 ballistic missiles and two cruise missiles fired from Iran, but most of them were intercepted and caused no casualties. Saudi Arabia’s defence ministry said Sunday it had intercepted and destroyed 15 drones that entered the kingdom’s airspace, including six east of capital Riyadh. Kuwait’s military also said Sunday that it had responded “to a wave of hostile drones that penetrated the country’s airspace”. Fuel tanks at Kuwait’s international airport were targeted in a drone attack, the military added. It called the drone attack “a direct targeting of vital infrastructure”. A separate statement said “some civilian facilities sustained material damage as a result of falling fragments and debris from interception operations”. The attacks came despite Iran’s president apologising to Gulf countries for earlier strikes. He had said they would no longer be targeted unless strikes were launched from their territory first. But hours later, Iran’s judiciary chief said strikes would continue on sites in Gulf countries which were “at the disposal of the enemy”. UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan said in a rare televised address that the Emirates were in “a period of war” and “will emerge stronger” from it. Dubai authorities said Saturday that a Pakistani national had been killed by debris from an “aerial interception”. Dubai airport Earlier in the day, Dubai closed its main airport – the world’s busiest for international traffic – after authorities said an unidentified object was intercepted nearby. The airport later partially resumed operations. A witness told AFP of a loud explosion in the area followed by a cloud of smoke, while footage verified by AFP recorded the sound of a drone followed by a loud explosion and plumes of smoke close to an airport concourse. The government said there had been “a minor incident resulting from the fall of debris after an interception”, without directly mentioning the airport. It said there were no injuries. The Flightradar24 tracking website earlier showed planes circling above the airport in an apparent holding pattern. In a statement since deleted from X, Emirates, the largest airline in the Middle East, had announced it was suspending all flights to and from Dubai until further notice, but later said it had resumed operations. The UAE, a US ally and home to American military installations, has been the most heavily targeted nation in the Gulf during the war. The defence ministry said 221 ballistic missiles were detected since the war began on February 28, with the number of drones surpassing 1,300. Iranian attacks have hit the Abu Dhabi airport, the upmarket Palm Jumeirah development and the Burj Al Arab luxury hotel over the past week, while drone debris caused a fire at the US consulate in Dubai on Tuesday. Saudi base Elsewhere in the Gulf on Saturday, Bahrain said it has intercepted 92 missiles and 151 drones since the start of the “brutal Iranian aggression”. AFP journalists heard an explosion Saturday night in Manama, Bahrain’s capital, as authorities said one person was injured after rocket shrapnel fell in a street. In Saudi Arabia, the defence ministry said it had destroyed three ballistic missiles heading towards Prince Sultan Air Base, which hosts American troops, as well as 17 drones over the Shaybah oil field in the southeast. Kuwait’s national oil company also announced a “precautionary” cut to its production of crude due to Iranian attacks and threats to the Strait of Hormuz, a key transit point for Gulf hydrocarbons.