A fresh wave of explosions rattled major cities across the Gulf on Monday, including Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi, as Iran intensified its missile campaign following the killing of its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have announced what they described as a “large-scale" attack, marking the third consecutive day of strikes in response to US-Israeli air raids on Iranian cities.
Loud blasts were heard across the Qatari capital Doha, Bahrain’s capital Manama and the United Arab Emirates’ most populous city.
Falling debris from an intercepted missile sparked a fire on a foreign ship in the port city of Salman, the Bahraini ministry said, killing one worker and seriously injuring two others, news agency AFP reported.
Explosions were also heard in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv after the Israeli military said it had identified missiles launched from Iran, triggering air raid sirens. Several missiles were intercepted over Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, and an AFP photographer witnessed air defence systems intercepting at least two drones near Iraq’s Erbil airport.
Drones have repeatedly been intercepted over Erbil, which hosts the US-led coalition troops and is also home to a major US consulate complex.
Black smoke was seen rising from the US embassy in Kuwait City on Monday after the latest volley of Iranian strikes.
The embassy did not announce it had been hit, but issued a security alert urging people to stay away. “There is a continuing threat of missile and UAV attacks over Kuwait. Do not come to the embassy," the statement said.
Kuwait’s interior ministry said it intercepted an unspecified number of drones targeting the small, oil-rich country at dawn.
One person has been killed and 32 others injured in Kuwait, the health ministry said on Sunday, in Iran’s retaliatory attacks so far.
The latest strikes came as Tehran pressed into a third day of strikes against Gulf neighbours in response to US-Israeli air raids that killed Khamenei and other senior Iranian officials. Tehran has vowed revenge and expanded its strikes to include Israel and Gulf states hosting US military assets.
Earlier on Sunday evening, Tehran launched massive strikes across the Gulf states including Doha, Riyadh, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Blasts were also reported in Manama, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Israeli officials had confirmed that five people were killed and dozens were injured in the missile attack.
The UAE’s defence ministry said three people—of Pakistani, Nepalese and Bangladeshi nationality—had died and 58 were injured in the country since the start of Iran’s strikes.
In a statement, the UAE’s defence ministry revealed that 165 ballistic missiles were detected, with 152 destroyed and two cruise missiles intercepted. Furthermore, a total of 541 Iranian drones were detected, 506 of which were intercepted and destroyed.
Kuwait authorities have reported that one person has died, and dozens have been injured in the country since the onset of the Iranian strikes.
Iran’s first retaliatory strikes on Saturday had targeted all Gulf states except Oman, which had attempted to mediate talks between the US and Iran. On Sunday, the commercial port of Duqm in Oman was hit by two drones, injuring a foreign worker, according to the Oman News Agency.
Iran’s judiciary confirmed that Ali Shamkhani, a top adviser to Khamenei, and General Mohammad Pakpour, head of the Revolutionary Guards, were among those killed in the latest violence.
Source: News18