Five Indians were injured after debris from intercepted ballistic missiles fell in Abu Dhabi, the city’s administration said. They sustained moderate to minor injuries.
The authorities in the United Arab Emirates’ capital city had earlier said that they were working to put out two fires caused by falling missile debris in the Khalifa Economic Zones, Al Jazeera reported.
On Thursday, an Indian citizen and a Pakistani citizen were killed in Abu Dhabi after debris from an intercepted Iranian missile fell on a street.
Here are more top updates from the conflict in West Asia:
- US Vice President JD Vance on Saturday told American podcaster Benny Johnson that the country will get out of Iran “soon”. US President Donald Trump “is going to keep at it for a little while longer to ensure that once we leave, we don’t have to do this again for a very, very long time”, Vance said. The US vice president acknowledged that fuel prices have risen sharply because of the conflict, but added that they would come down soon. “This is a very, very temporary reaction to what is ultimately going to be a short-term conflict,” he added.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that he spoke with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and discussed the conflict. Modi said that he reiterated India’s condemnation of attacks on energy infrastructure in the region. “We agreed on the need to ensure freedom of navigation and keeping shipping lines open and secure,” he said on social media.
- Twelve United States troops were injured, of whom two were seriously wounded, in an Iranian attack on the Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, The New York Times quoted two unidentified US officials as saying on Friday. The attack also caused significant damage to two KC-135 aerial refuelling planes, it added. The Iranian missile and drone attack was among the most serious breaches of US air defences since the war in West Asia began a month ago.
- Iran-backed Houthi forces in Yemen launched a ballistic missile towards southern Israel on Saturday, triggering sirens in areas including Beersheba, The Times of Israel reported. The Israeli military said it detected the launch from Yemen and was working to intercept it. This marks the group’s first such attack on Israel since the conflict started, Al Jazeera reported.
- The Houthis said on Saturday that they had targeted Israeli military installations and claimed that the attack was in response to strikes on infrastructure and civilian deaths in Lebanon, Iran, Iraq and Palestine, Al Jazeera reported. The group added that its strikes would continue until its stated objectives are achieved and “until the aggression against all resistance fronts ceases”.
- The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt and Pakistan will meet in Islamabad on Sunday and Monday to discuss ways to “de-escalate tensions” in West Asia.
- Operations at Oman’s Salalah port have been temporarily suspended after a drone attack, AFP quoted Danish shipping company Maersk said on Saturday. The attack had injured one worker and damaged a crane. Maersk, whose subsidiary runs the port, said that the operations could remain halted for 48 hours, the news agency reported.
- US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday that Washington DC expects its operation in Iran to end “in a matter of weeks, not months”, and claimed that it is progressing “very well”. Speaking with reporters after meeting foreign ministers from the Group of Seven forum, he asserted: “When we are done with them here over the next couple of weeks, they will be weaker than they’ve been in recent history.”
- Trump had claimed on Thursday that Iran was “begging” Washington to make a deal, even as Iran has reportedly dismissed a 15-point ceasefire plan proposed by the US. Trump on Thursday warned Tehran to “get serious” about negotiations, adding that if it becomes too late, “there is no turning back, and it won’t be pretty”.
- Nevertheless, Trump said on Friday that he wanted his legacy to be that of a “great peacemaker”. Addressing the Saudi-backed Future Investment Initiative Priority Summit in Miami, the US president claimed: “I settled eight wars. They were long-term wars and lots of people were being killed every year, so I’ve saved millions and millions of people.”
- Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said that his country will “exact [a] heavy price” for Israeli strikes, including attacks on “Iran’s largest steel factories, a power plant and civilian nuclear sites”. Noting Israel’s claim that it acted in coordination with the US, Araghchi said that the attacks contradicted Trump’s “extended deadline for diplomacy”.
- On Thursday, Trump said that he was once again postponing the deadline for Iran to fully open the Strait of Hormuz to shipping. Citing ongoing talks with Tehran to end the conflict, the president said that he would hold off for 10 more days before targeting the plants. Iran has, however, repeatedly denied that any negotiations are taking place to end the conflict.
The conflict
The US and Israel launched an attack on Iran on February 28, claiming that Tehran’s action posed an existential threat to Israel. Washington acts as a guarantor of Israel’s security. Iran has retaliated by striking Israel and US military bases in the region, and targeting major cities in Gulf countries and some ships.
Israel has been claiming that Iran is close to obtaining a nuclear weapon, which could alter the regional security balance. Tehran has long maintained that its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes.
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