Iran war news LIVE updates: Several explosions heard in Tehran; UAE responds to Iranian missile threat

Yemen’s Houthis carried out a second strike on Israel on Saturday and vowed to continue military operations in the coming days, Reuters reported.

The attack pointed to a potential new threat to global shipping, already hit by the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, previously a conduit for about a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies.

The Houthis have shown an ability to strike targets far beyond Yemen and disrupt shipping lanes around the Arabian Peninsula and the Red Sea, as they did in support of Hamas in the Gaza war.

Hezbollah said in a statement that its fighters targeted the town of Metula in northern Israel with a rocket salvo at 5 AM local time and targeted the village of Shtul with a rocket salvo at 6:20 AM. The group said it also carried out a drone attack on the Rawiya base in the occupied Golan Heights and launched rockets at a site in the village of Ghajar at 6:25 AM.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Sunday that it launched missile and drone strikes on aluminium plants in Bahrain and the UAE over the weekend, targeting what it described as industries linked to the US military.

Since the Middle East war erupted at the end of February, Bahrain and other Gulf countries have regularly been targeted by Iranian missile and drone strikes in retaliation for the US-Israeli campaign, now in its second month.

In a statement carried by Iranian state broadcaster IRIB, the Guards said they hit an aluminium facility in the UAE and Aluminium Bahrain’s main plant, calling both sites « industries affiliated with and connected to the US military and aerospace sectors in the region ».

The IRGC said the strikes were retaliation for a US-Israeli attack on Iranian industrial infrastructure launched from bases in Gulf states.

The Israeli embassy in Tokyo has refused to accept a statement from four groups representing atomic bomb survivors that criticised the US and Israel’s war on Iran.

The statement was returned to the groups in Nagasaki Prefecture by the post office, which said the embassy “refuses to accept” it, the Kyodo news agency reported, citing the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Survivors Council.

“The document was sent back without even being read. I think they are becoming close-minded,” said Shigemitsu Tanaka, the 85-year-old head of the council.

The Iranian Fars news agency reported that several explosions were heard in the capital, Tehran. The agency said it will provide more updates soon.

Regional powers plan to meet on Sunday in Islamabad to discuss how to end the fighting in the Middle East, as Pakistan said Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt will send top diplomats for talks.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said he and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian held “extensive discussions” on regional hostilities.

The war has threatened global oil and natural gas supplies, sparked fertiliser shortages, and disrupted air travel. Iran’s grip on the strategic Strait of Hormuz has shaken markets and prices.

The United States and Israel continue to strike Iran, whose retaliatory attacks have targeted Israel and neighbouring Gulf Arab states. More than 3,000 people have been killed.

The Houthis’ entry could further hurt global shipping if they again target vessels in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait off the Red Sea, through which about 12% of the world’s trade typically passes.

Two powerful explosions shook northern Tehran early on Sunday, AFP reported.

The blasts occurred in the Iranian capital around 7.20 AM (3.50 AM GMT) as air defences operated, although it was not clear what was targeted.

A spokesperson for the Kuwait National Guard confirmed that a “Task Force” successfully intercepted and destroyed four drones in the areas it secures.

The Israeli military said early on Sunday that one of its soldiers was killed during combat in southern Lebanon.

Attacks on Gulf countries have not ceased, with 1 person injured in Oman when its Salalah Port was targeted by drones.

Six were injured when three fires broke out in the UAE’s Khalifa Economic Zones Abu Dhabi – KEZAD, caused by falling debris following the interception of a ballistic missile.

Kuwait International Airport was subjected to several drone attacks, damaging the airport’s radar system, although no casualties were reported.

Iranian forces’ threat to ships in the crucial Strait of Hormuz has driven up insurance premiums that underpin the global freight industry.

After the fighting broke out on February 28, some insurers served so-called cancellation notices for war risk policies to « reassess… and then reinstate that cover at adjusted terms », the International Union of Marine Insurance said in a statement.

Despite the name, « a ‘Notice of Cancellation’ does not necessarily end the cover. War cover remains available for owners and operators wishing to take it. »

Executives in London — the world’s top shipping insurance market — insisted that captains were avoiding the route to protect their crews, not because they could not get insured.

(AFP)

Seafarers’ helplines say they are overwhelmed with messages from crews stuck in the Gulf by the Middle East war, desperately seeking repatriation, compensation and onboard supplies.

« Writing to urgently inform you that our vessel is currently facing a critical situation regarding provisions and one crew member’s health conditions, » read an email from one seafarer on March 24 to the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF)’s Seafarer Support team.

« Immediate supply of food, drinking water, and basic necessities is required to sustain the crew, » said the message to the team’s helpline.

The ITF said it had received more than 1,000 emails and messages from seafarers stuck around the Strait of Hormuz and the wider region since the war erupted with US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28.

UAE media is reporting that the situation in the country is now safe, as residents have received the all-clear message after missile interceptions.

The market capitalisation of defence stocks on the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose about a month after US-Israeli air strikes on Iran, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported, citing bourse data.

According to Yonhap, defence giant Hanwha Aerospace saw its market capitalisation increase 11.7 per cent to 68.8 trillion won ($45.1 billion) from 61.6 trillion won ($40.8 billion) over the cited period.

Aerospace company LIG Nex1’s market value also surged 44.4 per cent, while military and aviation company Hanwha Systems Co. rose 9.2 per cent.

Israel’s Channel 12 is reporting that the Israeli military has intercepted an Iranian missile and that the attack set off sirens in the Negev and Dead Sea regions in southern Israel.

Hezbollah has claimed that it has carried out a missile attack on Israel’s Mahava Alon base and fired drones at the Berea base, both near the northern city of Safad, on Sunday morning.

The Lebanese armed group also said it fired three salvoes of rockets at Israeli troops and vehicles in the Al-Malikiyah site in northern Israel.

The group said its fighters targeted an Israeli armoured force in Deir Siryan in southern Lebanon as well.

UAE authorities have said that the country’s air defences were dealing with a missile threat.

“Please remain in a safe place and follow the warnings and updates on official websites,” NCEMA UAE said in a statement.

In Bahrain, the Interior Ministry urged citizens to take shelter and « remain calm » after warning sirens were sounded across affected areas.

In a post on X, the Ministry said, « The siren has been sounded. Citizens and residents are urged to remain calm and head to the nearest safe place . »

An Iranian missile and drone assault on March 27 targeted Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, injuring several US military personnel and damaging critical aircraft assets, including an E-3 Sentry airborne warning and control system (AWACS) plane and aerial refuelling tankers, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.

Iran’s Press TV has listed the various sites targeted by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the Iranian army and Tehran’s allies in the Middle East on Saturday.

It said the IRGC “used long-range and medium-range solid and liquid-fueled systems and attack drones to target several industries belonging to the Israeli-American enemy” in Israel and other locations.

It claimed the IRGC shot down a US MQ9 drone and also hit an F-16 fighter jet.

The Iranian army, meanwhile, targeted an electronic warfare and radar centre, operated by the Israeli defence technology company, Elta, at the Israeli military aerospace complex in the port city of Haifa, as well as a fuel storage centre at David Ben Gurion Airport.

The ceramics hub at Gujarat’s Morbi makes up 90 percent of India’s total production and is one of the world’s largest ceramic manufacturing centres, exporting tiles to countries like the United States and Thailand.

But several plants have been forced to suspend operations due to LPG shortage.

The industry at Morbi provides direct and indirect employment to nearly a million people, according to government statistics.

More than 400 plants have closed after the gas supply chain was « broken », Manoj Arvadiya, head of the local manufacturing industry association, told AFP.

Keeping the kilns hot means plants operate around-the-clock — and emergency shutdowns can damage machinery.

Residents in the UAE have received an all clear message from the authorities after missile interceptions. According to the authorities quoted by Khaleej Times, the situation is now safe.

Two Australian states will temporarily offer free public transport to ease the effects of rising fuel costs, as prolonged hostilities in the Middle East increase supply risks.

Residents in Victoria will not be charged for public transport for one month from March 31, according to an emailed statement from the state government. Tasmania will remove fares for buses and ferries from March 30 to July 1, its administration said in a media release.

Australia faces elevated fuel supply risks, with several hundred service stations reporting shortfalls, and disruptions in delivery reported in the agriculture and mining sectors. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Friday that near-term supply is secure, as he sought to reassure skittish households and businesses.

Authorities in Dubai have said that the sounds heard across parts of the city were the result of successful air defence interception operations.

“Please rely on official sources for updates,” the Dubai Media office said in a statement.

The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has denounced a drone attack on the residence of Nechirvan Barzani, the president of the semi-autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq, in Duhok.

According to a report by Press TV, the IRGC blamed US and Israel for the attack and described it as an assassination attempt and a “clear act of terrorism”.

The IRGC said the aggression follows a pattern of “cowardly assassinations” of senior Iranian officials by the US and Israel, and said the “malicious efforts” were aimed at undermining peace, stability, and regional cooperation between the Kurdish region and neighbouring countries.

The drone attack took place early on Saturday and Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani has ordered an investigation.