Drone Incident Ignites Fire At Massive Dubai Airport
A drone-related incident sparked a fire near Dubai's international airport, the second-busiest airport in the world prior to the outbreak of the Middle East war.
"Authorities are currently responding to a fire resulting from a drone-related incident in the vicinity of Dubai International Airport," the Dubai Media Office posted on X on March 16.
"Civil Defense teams continue their efforts to bring the fire under control. No injuries have been reported so far," it added
"All necessary measures are being taken to ensure everyone's safety," it said, adding that "the drone crash "resulted in damage to one of the fuel tanks."
Iran has fired some 1,800 missiles and drones at the United Arab Emirates, more than any other country targeted by Tehran in retaliation for the US-Israeli air strikes that began on February 28.
The crisis has devastated the emirates' tourist industry and disrupted its crucial oil-sector operations.
Iran claimed that the recent US air strike on Kharg Island originated at an American base in the UAE, which denied the accusation.
Iranian Foreign Minister Says Jailed Dual Nationals Will Be 'Safe' If Prisons Not Attacked
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi says Iranian-American prisoners held in the Islamic republic will remain “safe” as long as the United States and Israel do not attack Iran’s prisons.
He made the remarks in response to a question from Margaret Brennan, host of a CBS television program, about the status of imprisoned Iranian-Americans Reza Valizadeh, a journalist, and Kamran Hekmati, another Iranian-American detainee, amid wartime conditions.
Valizadeh, who previously worked as a journalist for RFE/RL's Radio Farda for 10 years, resigned from the outlet in November 2022. After living abroad for some time, he returned to Iran in March 2024 to visit his family and was arrested the following September. He was sentenced three months later to 10 years in prison on charges of "collaborating with a hostile government."
According to informed sources who spoke with CBS News, Valizadeh is one of at least four Iranian-American citizens currently imprisoned in Iran, including Kamran Hekmati, 70 and one other woman in her seventies.
Since the start of the war on February 28, Valizadeh’s lawyer and friends abroad say they have had no information about his condition or that of his family.
Araqchi’s comments come as reports continue about poor conditions in Iranian prisons.
The Washington-based human rights organization HRANA has also reported disruptions in the provision of some basic necessities for prisoners.
A report it published on March 11 says developments linked to wartime conditions in Iran have led to shortages of clean drinking water, food, and medical care.
In the weeks and months leading up to the outbreak of the war, families of prisoners, lawyers, and human rights activists repeatedly warned that detainees’ lives were at risk, calling for their release or at least temporary furloughs during times of conflict.
Dubai Airport Resumes Flights After Drone-Related Fire
Dubai International Airport has begun gradually resuming flights after a drone-triggered fire forced a temporary suspension, United Arab Emirates authorities said on March 16, highlighting ongoing risks to aviation amid the US-Israel war with Iran.
The conflict has disrupted global air travel, with widespread cancelations and rerouting as much of Middle Eastern airspace remains closed and fuel prices surge.
The attack in Dubai damaged a fuel tank near the airport but caused no injuries.
The Emirates and flydubai airlines briefly halted operations, diverting some flights to Al Maktoum International Airport, and expected a partial restart from 10 a.m. local time.
It was the third strike on the airport since Iran launched attacks across Persian Gulf states on February 28, targeting sites linked to US diplomatic missions and military bases as well as civilian infrastructure.
The United Arab Emirates' air defence systems were again intercepting Iranian missiles and drones on the morning of March 16, the Gulf nation's Defense Ministry said.
"UAE air defenses are currently responding to incoming missile and drone threats from Iran," the ministry posted on X.
Based on reporting by Reuters and AFP
Country-By-Country Casualty Tolls From Middle East War
The French AFP news agency has assembled casualty figures from around the Middle East since the United States and Israel launched its air strikes on Iran on February 28.
AFP said the figures are based on numbers released by governments, militaries, health authorities. and rescue organizations in the affected countries. It cautioned that it has not been able to independently verify all of the figures.
IRAN
The Health Ministry on March 8 said more than 1,200 people had been killed, including around 200 women and 200 children under the age of 12, with more than 10,000 civilians injured.
The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) on March 11 said at least 1,825 people had been killed, including 1,276 civilians -- among them at least 200 children -- as well as 197 military personnel and 352 people whose status had not been classified.
Due to reporting restrictions, AFP and other news agencies have not been able to access the sites of strikes or independently verify the tolls.
ISRAEL
Israeli authorities have reported 14 people killed.
First responders and local authorities say Iranian missile fire has killed 12 people inside the country, including four minors, since the start of the war, AFP reported based on their announcements.
Israel's military separately confirmed the deaths of two soldiers in combat in southern Lebanon.
LEBANON
The Health Ministry on March 14 said Israeli strikes have killed 850 people, including 66 women and 107 children, since the start of the war with Hezbollah, adding that 2,105 others were wounded.
The ministry said 31 paramedics were among the dead.
Lebanon's has said three of its soldiers have been killed.
Hezbollah has not revealed its losses.
THE GULF
Gulf state authorities and the US Central Command have reported 26 people killed -- 13 of them civilians. The rest of those killed were military or security personnel, including seven US service members.
Kuwait reported six deaths: two soldiers, two border guards and two civilians, one of them an 11-year-old girl.
The United Arab Emirates reported six deaths: four civilians and two military personnel who died as a result of a helicopter crash blamed on a technical malfunction.
Saudi Arabia said two civilians had died, as did Bahrain.
Oman reported the death of a mariner at sea and two other people in a drone attack on an industrial area.
Qatar reported 16 injuries and no fatalities.
IRAQ
Armed groups and officials have said at least 49 people have been killed in Iraq since the start of the conflict, according to an AFP tally based on their announcements.
France said an Iranian drone killed a French soldier in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region.
The US military said a refueling aircraft crashed in western Iraq, killing all six crew members, in an incident not caused by hostile or friendly fire.
Pro-Iran armed factions and security sources say 35 Iran-backed fighters were killed in strikes they blame on the United States and Israel.
Kurdish rebel groups said at least five Iranian Kurdish militants were killed in strikes attributed to Iran on their positions in the north.
Kurdish security sources said one airport guard was killed in a drone attack on Erbil airport.
Officials said one civilian was killed by rocket shrapnel following a strike southeast of Baghdad.
JORDAN
Security officials said 28 people have been injured by falling debris from Iranian missiles and drones in various parts of the kingdom.
No deaths have been recorded so far.
With reporting by AFP
Drone Incident Ignites Fire At Massive Dubai Airport
A drone-related incident sparked a fire near Dubai's international airport, the second-busiest airport in the world prior to the outbreak of the Middle East war.
"Authorities are currently responding to a fire resulting from a drone-related incident in the vicinity of Dubai International Airport," the Dubai Media Office posted on X on March 16.
"Civil Defense teams continue their efforts to bring the fire under control. No injuries have been reported so far," it added
"All necessary measures are being taken to ensure everyone's safety," it said, adding that "the drone crash "resulted in damage to one of the fuel tanks."
Iran has fired some 1,800 missiles and drones at the United Arab Emirates, more than any other country targeted by Tehran in retaliation for the US-Israeli air strikes that began on February 28.
The crisis has devastated the emirates' tourist industry and disrupted its crucial oil-sector operations.
Iran claimed that the recent US air strike on Kharg Island originated at an American base in the UAE, which denied the accusation.
Iran Women’s Soccer Captain Drops Asylum Bid In Australia, Say State Media
The Iranian women’s soccer captain, Zahra Ghanbari, has withdrawn her asylum request in Australia and will return to Iran, state media said, becoming the fifth member of the national team delegation to reverse a bid for sanctuary.
Seven players and staff initially sought refuge after being branded “traitors” at home for not singing the Islamic republic's national anthem before a game during the Women’s Asian Cup.
Iranian authorities hailed Ghanbari’s decision, announced on March 15, as patriotic, but opposition media and others say players were pressured to change course through threats against their families.
Australian officials said the team members were given opportunities to pursue asylum but faced "incredibly difficult decisions."
With several already leaving for Malaysia en route to Iran, only two members of the delegation are now expected to remain in Australia.
With reporting by AFP
Interview: Iran's Use Of Chinese Doctrine And Tech Under The Spotlight
- By Ray Furlong
TEL AVIV -- The Iran war offers huge lessons for the effectiveness of Chinese military doctrine and hardware, both used by the Iranian military, according to Eran Ortal, a reserve Brigadier General in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
Speaking to RFE/RL from a location near Tel Aviv late on March 14, Ortal said Iranian tactics around the Strait of Hormuz were very similar to those that China would be expected to employ in a future conflict around Taiwan.
The US and Chinese military would be “taking notes” as the current conflict played out, he added.
Ortal was previously commander of the IDF’s Dado center, a military studies unit at the General Staff. He is now head of the military program at the Begin-Sadat center (BESA) at Bar-Ilan University and a visiting scholar at the American Foreign Policy Council (AFPC).
RFE/RL: Iran has blocked the Strait of Hormuz. Is there a military solution, and if so, what does it look like?
Eran Ortal: Well, that's the nature of asymmetric warfare. You can take out the Iranian fleet and the entire Iranian Navy, and the Fifth Fleet has done that. But the asymmetric capabilities, the speed boats, the unmanned boats, the mines and the coastal missiles will still be there. And this is a threat you cannot just totally remove. It's just like we have the anti-tank missile problem in Lebanon. You can take some of them out, you can have countermeasures, but they will always be able to snipe away.
You can protect the vessels going through the Hormuz Straits and you can win the war. That's basically the tactic and the strategy to maneuver around this problem. And I guess this is the American strategy.
Read more here.
Trump Warns Of 'Very Bad' Future For NATO If Allies Fail To Help US In Strait
US President Donald Trump warned that NATO faces a "very bad" future if member states fail to help open the critical Strait of Hormuz, the oil transport lane that has been effectively closed by Iran amid the war with the United States and Israel.
In an interview published on March 16 by The Financial Times, Trump said that just like the United States has helped Ukraine in the war with Russia, he expects Europe to help on the strait.
The disruptions to shipping in the strait has sent oil prices soaring around the world, raising the cost of living for hundreds of millions of people.
"If there's no response or if it's a negative response, I think it will be very bad for the future of NATO," Trump said in the brief interview.
Asked what specific help he was seeking, Trump told the FT he sought minesweepers as well as "people who are going to knock out some bad actors that are along the shore [of Iran]."
"I think China should help too because China gets 90 percent of its oil from the Straits," Trump told the newspaper.
Trump said he has spoken to seven countries about securing shipping in the strait, without identifying them. The Wall Street Journal reported that the US administration is close to announcing the coalition, although when it would begin escorting traffic is still to be determined.
The US president said that Israel is working with Washington on means to protect shipping in the strait.
Macron Tells Pezeshkian To Cease Attacks On Regional Countries
French President Emmanuel Macron told his Iranian counterpart to put an immediate end to "unacceptable" attacks against countries in the region, including Iraq, where a French soldier was killed last week in a drone strike.
Macron wrote on X on March 15 that he "recently" spoke with Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian and "asked him to immediately put an end to the unacceptable attacks that Iran is carrying out, whether directly or through proxy groups, including in Lebanon and Iraq, against countries in the region."
"I reminded him that France intervenes within a strictly defensive framework to protect its interests, its regional partners, and freedom of navigation, and that targeting our country is unacceptable," Macron added.
He said the "unchecked tensions" are "driving the entire region toward chaos."
Tehran has launched missiles and drones toward US Arab allies and Israel in retaliation for a massive US-Israeli air campaign against Iran that began on February 28.
On March 12, a French officer was killed and at least five soldiers were wounded in a drone attack in the Makhmour area of Iraq. It was not clear if the drones were launched by Iran or its proxy groups in Iraq.
German Foreign Minister Makes Clear: Berlin Will Not Participate In Escort Duty
Amid talk of a possible coalition of nations to protect shipping in the all-important Strait of Hormuz, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul on March 15 said his country does not plan to take part in such an international military operation. "Will we soon become an active part of this conflict? No," Wadephul told German media. Wadephul said Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Defense Minister Boris Pistorius have made Berlin's position clear. "We will not participate in this conflict," Wadephul said. US President Donald Trump had sought military assistance from other concerned nations to secure shipping through the strait, a vital for global oil transport. Shipping there has virtually ceased since the start of the US-Israeli air strikes on Iran beginning February, driving up oil prices.
Iran Says More Than 500 People Detained In Connection With War
Iranian security officials say they have detained more than 500 people in connection with the war, including people who have provided photos and videos to outside news organizations.
Ahmad-Reza Radan, commander of the Iranian security forces, said about one-half of those detained were "significant cases," the state-run Fars news agency reported on March 15.
Radan said the detained include individuals who passed information to broadcaster Iran International -- which is run by Iranian exiles based outside the country -- and people who took photographs of locations hit during US-Israeli air strikes since February 28.
The Iranian judiciary has declared that photographs of sensitive facilities and damages may constitute a breach of security and that severe penalties may be imposed.
There is no way to confirm the number of those detained, whether they are still being held, or the condition of those taken into custody.
During mass antigovernment protests earlier this year, tens of thousands of people were arrested and thousands were killed a brutal crackdown.
US President Donald Trump warned the government not to kill or execute protesters prior to the February 28 US and Israeli air strikes on Iran and rights groups assailed the regime in Tehran for the brutality.