Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: 1,000 Indians evacuated from Qatar amid conflict; UAE stops major refinery operations

Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: Italian foreign minister has condemned what he described as Iranian attacks on Qatar and called for a political solution to the crisis.

In a post on X, Antonio Tajani said he held a “long conversation” with Qatar’s prime minister and foreign minister, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, discussing the war in the Middle East.

Tajani said the “new Iranian attacks on Qatar are unacceptable”, adding that their shared goal was to reach a political solution to the crisis.

Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: The United States military is now moving to dismantle Iran’s missile production, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday.

She added that B-2 bombers have recently dropped 2,000-pound bombs on what she described as deeply buried missile sites in Iran.

Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: Air India and Air India Express will together operate a total of 58 scheduled and non-scheduled flights to and from the West Asia region on March 11.

The two carriers continue to operate their respective scheduled services to and from Jeddah and Muscat on 11 March, operate a total of 8 flights to and from Jeddah, and Air India Express operating 14 scheduled flights to and from Muscat.

Furthermore, 36 ad hoc flights will also be scheduled to and from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which will be subject to availability.

Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: The Indian embassy in Qatar on Tuesday said that one flight of Qatar Airways is scheduled for New Delhi on March 11.

It also said that about 1000 Indian passengers travelled to New Delhi, Mumbai and Kochi on Qatar Airways flights on March 10. The Indian embassy coordinated with Qatar Airways for the facilitation of travel of stranded Indian nationals and emergency cases.

Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: Foreign Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday said that he had a ‘detailed conversation this evening with Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi “on the latest developments regarding the ongoing conflict.”

“We agreed to remain in touch,” Jaishankar added.

Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: Andhra Pradesh Non-Resident Telugu Society (APNRTS) president Ravi Kumar P Vemuru on Tuesday said that nearly 2,000 transit passengers and Telugu people on tourist visas in West Asia had returned home.

« A lot of the transit passengers and the people who were there on visitor visas have already come back. Maybe a couple of thousands. The government brought some of them, and a lot of the other people came (back), » Vemuru told PTI.

Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: The death toll from Israel’s attacks on Lebanon rose to 570 since March 2, the state news agency reported.

Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war last week when Hezbollah attacked Israel in response to the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during US-Israeli strikes. Syria has so far remained on the sidelines.

Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: British Airways has temporarily reduced its fleet to and from Abu Dhabi until later this year, citing unrest in the region. British Airways, in a post on X, cautioned its customers from falling prey to scamsters.

« Due to the continuing uncertainty of the situation in the Middle East and airspace instability, we’ve had to temporarily reduce our flying schedule in the region. We’ve cancelled all flights to and from Amman, Bahrain, Doha, Dubai and Tel Aviv until later this month and to and from Abu Dhabi until later this year.

Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: Nearly 1,000 Indian nationals stranded in Qatar were flown to New Delhi, Mumbai and Kochi on Tuesday amid the ongoing conflict in West Asia, the Indian mission in Qatar said.

The Indian Embassy in Doha coordinated with Qatar Airways to facilitate the travel of stranded Indian nationals and emergency cases, it said in an update on X.

Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: UAE air defences on Tuesday detected 9 ballistic missiles, of which 8 were destroyed, while 1 missile fell into the sea. A total of 35 UAVs were also detected, with 26 intercepted, while 9 fell within the country’s territory.

Since the onset of the blatant Iranian attacks, 262 ballistic missiles have been detected. Of these, 241 were destroyed, 19 fell into the sea, and 2 struck within the State territory, the defense ministry said in a post on X.

Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: Air India fares are set to go up as the airline on Tuesday announced a hike in fuel surcharge amid the conflict in the West Asian region.

The airline has announced a “phased expansion” of fuel surcharge on its domestic and international routes, citing “the steep rise in jet fuel prices arising from the geopolitical situation in the Gulf region.”

Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: Ukrainian military experts are due this week in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, President Volodymyr Zelensky told journalists on Tuesday, where they will share expertise on downing Iranian drones.

« The first three countries to which we sent them, according to our agreements, are Qatar, the Emirates, and Saudi Arabia, » Zelensky said in an audio message sent to reporters, including AFP.

Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: Russian President Vladimir Putin called for de-escalation in the Iran conflict during a phone call on Tuesday with his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian, AFP reported quoting Kremlin.

« The President of Russia reaffirmed his principled position in favour of a speedy de-escalation of the conflict and for it to be resolved through political means, » the Kremlin said.

Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: The UAE was dealing with a fire in an area where its biggest oil refinery is located, following a drone strike. The blaze was at a facility in the Ruwais industrial zone, according to the Abu Dhabi Media Office. It didn’t identify the facility.

The country’s largest refinery has the capacity to process over 900,000 barrels a day of oil.

Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: Airlines in the Persian Gulf are slowly starting to increase flights even as countries continue to intercept missiles and drones from Iran in their skies.

Emirates, the world’s largest international carrier, is operating a reduced flight schedule to about 100 destinations in more than 50 countries. That’s significantly lower than the number of destinations the airline typically serves, and the frequency of flights remains restricted, Bloomberg reported.

Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: Iran’s intelligence ministry has arrested a foreign national it said was conducting espionage on behalf of the United States and Israel, and acting as a proxy for two Gulf countries, state media cited the ministry as saying on Tuesday.

The ministry also said it had arrested 30 spies, internal mercenaries, and operational agents of Israel and the US over the past few days.

Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: In X post, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday congratulated Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei on his assumption of the responsibilities of Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

“I also reiterate deepest condolences and prayers on behalf of the people of Pakistan on the martyrdom of his father, Ayatollah Al,” the post read.

Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: Iraqi authorities on Tuesday said that they are exploring alternative routes to export oil after transit through the Strait of Hormuz was disrupted by the Middle East war.

Saheb Bazoun, an Iranian oil ministry spokesperson told AFP that « much like other countries in the region, oil production and marketing have been severely impacted, leaving the government no choice but to seek alternative » export routes.

Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: Iranian business owner in Dubai, Morteza Asaadi highlighted the drop in business brought on by the Middle East war.

Iranians in Dubai are torn as Tehran retaliates against countries in the Gulf. On the one hand, they are fearful for loved ones facing US and Israeli bombardments back home, while also wary of the Iranian strikes threatening their livelihood.

With more people staying home because of the attacks, « we are fearful, you know, for a livelihood », said Asaadi.

Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: Many top Wall Street banks are allowing staff in the United Arab Emirates to temporarily leave the country and work remotely as attacks on the Gulf nation continue, Bloomberg reported.

Top banks, including Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Morgan Stanley and Citigroup Inc, are giving employees an option to relocate temporarily.

Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: US attacks on Iran will hit a new intensity on Tuesday and the war will continue as long as President Donald Trump decides, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said.

« Today will be yet again, our most intense day of strikes inside Iran, the most fighters, the most bombers, » Hegseth told a news conference at the Pentagon more than 10 days into the US-Israeli war against the Islamic republic.

Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: Oil supply cuts in the Middle East are deepening, shaving about 6% off global output, as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz builds pressure on producers, Bloomberg reported.

Production cuts are rippling across the Gulf even as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates ramp up exports through alternative routes to bypass Hormuz, with Saudi shipments through the Red Sea reaching a record this week, the report said.

Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: As the Middle East crisis escalates, more airlines cancelled flights on Tuesday

Latvia’s airBaltic said all flights to and from Tel Aviv had been cancelled until March 28.The Canadian carrier, Air Canada, cancelled all flights to Tel Aviv until May 2 and all flights to Dubai until March 28.The Spanish airline, Air Europa cancelled all flights to Tel Aviv until March 20.The UAE airline, Etihad, said it was operating a reduced flight schedule.

Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: The UAE was dealing with a fire in an area where its biggest oil refinery is located, following a drone strike. The blaze was at a facility in the Ruwais industrial zone, according to the Abu Dhabi Media Office. It didn’t identify the facility.

The country’s largest refinery has the capacity to process over 900,000 barrels a day of oil.

Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: UAE’s biggest refinery halts operations

The biggest oil refinery in the United Arab Emirates halted operations after a drone strike caused a fire in the industrial area in which it’s located.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. was assessing damage at the plant, the people said, asking not to be named because the matter is not yet public. The Ruwais refinery can process 922,000 barrels of oil a day.