Iran steps up attacks against US, strikes with drone near American consulate in Dubai | World News
As the US-Israel-Iran war enters its fifth day, Iran continues to step up its retaliatory attacks targeting American diplomatic missions in the Middle East, with the latest drone strike being launched near the US consulate in Dubai late Tuesday night. Following reports of the attack, the Dubai Media Office shared visuals informing the public that the fire had been extinguished, with Dubai authorities reaffirming “their commitment towards ensuring everyone’s safety and security.”
The Foreign Ministry of the UAE highlighted that the country was exposed to over 1,000 attacks from Iran since it launched retaliatory strikes in the region in response to US-Israeli strikes. These strikes, since February 28, have left three people dead in the UAE, with the country’s Defence Ministry claiming 58 residents of multiple nationalities to have sustained minor injuries.
The Ministry affirmed that it did not allow its territory to be used in any attack on Iran and that it did not take any decision to change its defensive stance towards the attacks, Reuters reported.
Flight operations impacted, evacuations underway
Tens of thousands of passengers remain stranded at major airports across the UAE, including the Dubai International Airport, in what appears to the worst crisis for air travel since the Covid-19 pandemic.
The governments of countries whose citizens reside in parts of the UAE have continued to direct efforts towards bringing stranded travelers back to their homes following the cancellation of over 20,000 flights in recent days. According to Flightradar24, about 21,300 flights have been cancelled at seven major airports, including Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi since the strikes started.
Amid the crisis, the demand for charter flights seems to have skyrocketed, with some paying up to 200,000 euros (USD 232,000) as major airports remains closed, the Associated Press reported. The travelers are preferring to pay large sums for luxury flights to Europe via airports that remain safe from Iranian drone and missile attacks.
The Emirates airline, meanwhile, has suspended all commercial operations to and from Dubai until 11:59 PM (UAE time) on March 4. Etihad Airways has halted all Abu Dhabi commercial services through March 5. Both carriers have warned passengers to not travel to the airport unless specifically contacted. Besides these airlines, Flydubai is operating a limited number of flights since Monday, mostly to repatriate stranded passengers, according to a Reuters report.
Story continues below this ad
Delta Air Lines, on the other hand, said that it has paused New York-Tel Aviv flights through March 22 owing to the conflict and was offering rebooking options and a travel waiver for affected customers through March 31, as per a Reuters report.
On Tuesday, Virgin Atlantic announced it would resume services as scheduled between London’s Heathrow Airport and Dubai or Riyadh.
The UAE government informed that 60 flights were operating in dedicated emergency air corridors to evacuate residents from the region. The next phase will see the operation of more than 80 flights, according to Reuters.
UAE cautions citizens
UAE authorities, in an alert, Wednesday, advised residents to avoid venturing near any debris or objects on the ground following air interceptions of Iranian missiles.
Story continues below this ad
“Do not approach, touch, or photograph any debris or objects that have fallen as a result of successful air interceptions, and allow the relevant authorities to assess the situation,” it said in a statement. “While some objects may appear harmless, interacting with them may pose safety risks,” it read.
Meanwhile, the Abu Dhabi-based National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority (NCEMA) also warned residents against leaving their homes or stopping vehicles to film when a warning alert is issued.
In a post on X, the authority wrote: “Alert for your safety — do not exit to film or record. Proceed immediately to a safe place and remain until the all-clear.”
India’s efforts
One of the key priorities of the Indian government amid the crisis remains the safety of its nearly 10 million citizens in the West Asian countries impacted by the war.
Story continues below this ad
Over the past few days, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has personally spoken with leaders of several countries in the region viz., UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Jordan, expressing solidarity with them, and thanking them for their continued care and support of the Indian community. UAE has nearly 3.5 million Indians, Saudi Arabia 2.7 million, Kuwait about a million and Qatar another 8.5 lakh.
Moreover, India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Wednesday announced that it had set up Special Control Room in view of the prevailing crisis.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal shared the update on his X handle stating, “A Special Control Room has been set up in the Ministry of External Affairs in view of the current situation in West Asia and the Gulf region.”
The Control Room can be contacted between 9 am and 9 pm on all days. It also shared emergency contact numbers of its embassies in West Asia.
Story continues below this ad
Flight operations by Indian airlines to and from West Asian countries are also slowly resuming, with airlines such as Air India now planning to deploy its wide-body aircraft of a higher capacity on its services to Jeddah and Dubai on March 3 and 4 to facilitate the return of passengers.
SpiceJet early Wednesday also announced eight more special flights to operate from Fujairah to India.
A day earlier, about 164 passengers who were stranded in Dubai also landed at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in mumbai. Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had arranged a special flight from Fujairah to India.
US advice for citizens in UAE
Citing “serious safety risks,” the United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio Tuesday urged American citizens to depart immediately from Middle Eastern nations, including Iran, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Gaza, West Bank, United Arab Emirates, via commercial means.
Story continues below this ad
The countries included in the advisory are Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel (including the West Bank and Gaza), Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.
The state department also issued helpline numbers for American citizens to provide them assistance by arranging for commercial means to depart from these countries in the Middle East.
It is also securing military and charter flights to evacuate Americans from the Middle East, a US State Department official said on X on Tuesday, adding that it was in contact with nearly 3,000 US citizens.