Dubai Abu Dhabi news highlights: Saudi Arabia intercepts drone; Hezbollah, Israel trade fresh attacks

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Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: Here are some key points:

• Saudi Arabia on Wednesday said it intercepted more attacks from Iran.
• Qatar Airways has announced that it will operate 29 flights on Thursday: 15 departing Doha, and 14 coming in.
• Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations Amir-Saeid Iravani claimed that the US and Israel have hit 10,000 civilian sites across Iran amid the ongoing conflict.
• UAE air defences intercepted 8 ballistic missiles and 26 drones, the nation's Ministry of Defence said on Tuesday.
• 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.
• British Airways has temporarily reduced its fleet to and from Abu Dhabi unil later this year, citing unrest in the region.
• 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.

Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: The US military has said it destroyed 16 inactive Iranian mine-laying vessels after President Donald Trump warned of grave consequences if oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz are disrupted.

“US forces eliminated multiple Iranian naval vessels, March 10, including 16 minelayers near the Strait of Hormuz,” said US Central Command in a statement on X.

Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: Saudi Arabia on Wednesday said it intercepted more attacks from Iran. In an official statement from the country's defence ministry, Saudi intercepted six ballistic missiles launched towards Prince Sultan Air Base and two drones in Hafar Al-Batin.

Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: After Jordan, UAE and Saudi Arabia, Bahrain has also sounded sirens for a potential attack,

“The siren has been sounded .Citizens and residents are urged to remain calm and head to the nearest safe place,” the country's interior ministry wrote on X.

Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE updates: Qatar Airways has announced that it will operate 29 flights on Thursday: 15 departing Doha, and 14 coming in.

Though Qatar’s airspace remains closed, the carrier has, since last weekend, slowly increased the number of special flights it is operating between Doha and key cities around the world such as Cairo, New Delhi, Madrid, Islamabad, Mumbai, Jakarta and more.

Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE updates: Authorities in the UAE have said that the situation is currently safe. As per Khaleej Times, the threat was called off in a fresh alert sent to phones.

Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: Saudi Arabia’s Defence Ministry on Wednesday said it intercepted two drones heading towards the Shaybah oilfield.

In a statement, the ministry’s spokesperson said the drones were detected and downed in the Empty Quarter desert before reaching the oil facility.

Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: The Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Defence have issued an emergency alert asking residents to seek a “safe place”. ‎The UAE’s Ministry of Defence said on X, “The UAE's air defences are currently dealing with a barrage of ballistic missiles coming from Iran.”

‎”The Ministry of Defense confirms full readiness to address all threats to ensure the protection of the state's territories and the safety of citizens and residents.”

Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE updates: Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations Amir-Saeid Iravani claimed that the US and Israel have hit 10,000 civilian sites across Iran amid the ongoing conflict.

He added that it’s “regrettable” the council is “turning a blind eye despite its responsibility under the charter to maintain international peace and security”.

Of the 10,000 civilian sites hit, about 8,000 are residential homes, and the death toll is more than 1,300 people.

“Today, it is Iran, tomorrow it could be any other sovereign state,” Iravani said, urging the international community to act to stop the war.

He also called on UN member states to condemn US-Israeli “aggression” that “poses a serious threat” to international law.

Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE updates: Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani told U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio that Iraqi airspace will not be used to launch an attack on Gulf countries, including Iran.

The prime minister added that Baghdad would not permit Iraqi territory to become a launching point for attacks against any country.

In a phone call with Rubio, Sudani stressed "the importance of ensuring that Iraqi airspace, territory, and waters are not used for any military action targeting neighbouring countries or the region," the Prime Minister's media office said.

The Iraqi PM also rejected "any attempt to drag the country into ongoing conflicts," as well as "violations of its airspace by any party."

Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: UAE air defences intercepted 8 ballistic missiles and 26 drones, the nation's Ministry of Defence said on Tuesday.

A drone strike caused a fire at Abu Dhabi's Ruwais Industrial Complex, no injuries were reported.

However, as the conflict escalates, the country's death toll rose to 6, with 122 people injured across dozens of nationalities since the start of the US-Israel-Iran conflict.

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.