Two Iranian drones hit near Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest airport for international travel and home to long-haul carrier Emirates, leaving four people injured.
The Dubai Media Office said the attack caused “minor injuries to two Ghanaian nationals and one Bangladeshi national, and moderate injuries to one Indian national.”
In a statement confirming the incident, the office added that air traffic at the airport was operating normally despite the attack.
In a related development, Iran’s military was reported to have attacked a commercial ship across the Persian Gulf, escalating tensions in the oil-rich region as global energy concerns mounted and American and Israeli airstrikes continued to pound the Islamic Republic.
Iran’s joint military command also announced it would begin targeting banks and financial institutions in the Middle East, a threat that could particularly affect Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, which hosts many international financial institutions, as well as Saudi Arabia and the island kingdom of Bahrain.
Earlier, a projectile struck a container ship off the coast of Oman in the Strait of Hormuz, setting it ablaze and forcing most of the crew to abandon the vessel, according to the British military.
Kuwait said its air defenses shot down eight Iranian drones, while Saudi Arabia reported intercepting six drones heading toward the kingdom’s Shaybah oil field.
Saudi Defence Ministry spokesman Turki al-Malki said on Wednesday that the Kingdom intercepted and destroyed six ballistic missiles fired at Prince Sultan Air Base in the Al-Kharj region, about 80 kilometres southeast of Riyadh.
He added that another missile fired toward the Eastern Province was also destroyed.
Al-Malki further disclosed that Saudi forces intercepted eight drones in the Eastern Province, seven in the Empty Quarter aimed at the Shaybah oil field, five east of Al-Kharj, and two in the Hafar Al-Batin region in the Kingdom’s northeast.
The Saudi government on Tuesday underscored the Kingdom’s right to take all necessary measures to ensure its security, sovereignty and territorial safety, as well as repel attacks.
Meanwhile, Iran has effectively halted cargo traffic through the narrow Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping lane through which about one-fifth of the world’s oil passes from the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean.
Iran has also targeted oil fields and refineries in Gulf Arab states, apparently seeking to generate enough global economic pressure to push the United States and Israel to halt their military strikes.
The United Nations Security Council was expected to vote later Wednesday on a resolution sponsored by the Gulf Cooperation Council demanding that Iran stop attacks on its Arab neighbours.
The United States and Israel continued trading airstrikes with Iran across the Middle East on Wednesday, as Tehran warned that its security forces were ready with “fingers on the trigger” to confront any anti-government protests.
Following some of the heaviest bombardments in the region on Tuesday, attacks resumed on targets in Israel, Lebanon and parts of the Gulf as the conflict entered its 12th day.
The war has disrupted shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz, threatening the flow of about one-fifth of the world’s fossil fuel supplies.
After a surge in crude oil prices earlier in the week, global energy markets later stabilized as investors speculated that U.S. President Donald Trump could push for a diplomatic end to the conflict.
However, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned it would block oil shipments from the Gulf unless U.S. and Israeli attacks cease, as airstrikes between the sides showed no immediate sign of easing.
