Dubai news highlights| UAE continues to thwart Iranian attacks; Talks on end of West Asia war drag on

Dubai News LIVE: Oil rallied on Tuesday as the world's biggest supply disruption persisted, with Iran also denying any talks with the United States to end the war in the Gulf.

Brent futures rose $4.62, or 4.62%, to $104.56 a barrel at 2:16 p.m. ET (1816 GMT) on Tuesday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) climbed $4.44, or 5.04%, to $92.57, Reuters news agency reported.

Dubai News LIVE: The United Arab Emirates on Tuesday condemned what it described as an Iranian attack targeting Bahrain, while calling it a “dangerous escalation,” Al Jazeera reported.

The UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the attack killed a Moroccan civilian contractor working with the UAE armed forces. It added that five members of UAE's ministry of defence were injured, as well as a number of Bahraini soldiers.

Dubai News LIVE: United States' military operations in Iran continue “unabated”, even as President Donald Trump considers diplomacy.

Trump had on Monday said US was conducting talks with Iran, a claim Tehran later denied. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu too, in a video message posted to X late on Monday, signalled that Trump could see an “opportunity” to leverage an agreement in Iran on the basis of the “achievements” that Israel and US had made during the conflict.

Dubai News LIVE: The UAE hosted the release of a US citizen who had been imprisoned in Afghanistan to the United States, in the presence of representatives from relevant authorities in both countries.

The Ministry expressed its gratitude to the United States and Afghanistan for their trust in the UAE and for choosing it as the venue for the release, which embodies its role as a trusted mediator in supporting diplomatic and humanitarian solutions, the UAE's foreign ministry said in a statement.

Israeli officials said the country will persist with strikes against Iran even as US President Donald Trump claimed talks are underway to end the conflict, further unsettling energy and financial markets.

Defense Minister Israel Katz said the campaign, now in its 25th day, would continue “at full intensity,” while Energy Minister Eli Cohen said Trump’s comments should be taken “slowly.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked close confidant Ron Dermer to monitor any US-Iranian negotiations to make sure the country’s interests are upheld, an Israeli official said. (Bloomberg)

Dubai News LIVE: Saudi Arabia informs on X that it has interception and destroyed a drone in the eastern region of the country.

Dubai News LIVE: Air India and Air India Express will operate a total of 8 non-scheduled flights to and from the UAE on March 25, the airline said in a release, subject to slot availability and prevailing conditions at the respective departure stations. The flights will be conducted with the necessary approvals from Indian and local regulatory authorities.

China's top diplomat urged his Iranian counterpart in a phone call Tuesday that "talking is always better" than fighting, after Tehran denied Donald Trump's claim that negotiations were underway.

The war between the United States, Israel and Iran has spiralled throughout the Middle East and caused a worsening energy bottleneck in the Strait of Hormuz, the route for about a fifth of global crude shipments.

The US president said on Monday his administration was speaking with an unidentified "top person" among Iran's leadership, as he extended by five days a deadline to hit the country's power plants.

But Tehran's parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf insisted "no negotiations" were taking place, accusing Trump of seeking "to manipulate the financial and oil markets". (AFP)

Dubai News LIVE: US secretary of state Marco Rubio will travel to France this week to try to sell US' skeptical Group of Seven allies on the strategy of the Iran war that has sent global fuel prices soaring, the State Department said Tuesday. (AP)

Dubai News LIVE: “The General Command of the Bahrain Defense Force mourns the martyr of duty from the armed forces of the sisterly United Arab Emirates, whose pure soul has ascended to its Creator while performing his national duty alongside his brothers in the Bahrain Defense Force in confronting the sinful Iranian aggressions,” Bahrain defence force wrote on X.

Dubai News LIVE Updates: The UAE's Ministry of Defence informed on X one of the civilian contractors in is Armed forces, a Moroccan national, was martyred during a routine mission in Bahrain following an Iranian missile attack.

“The brazen Iranian attack resulted in injuries to five members of the UAE Ministry of Defence. The Ministry of Defence extends its deepest condolences and sympathies to the family of the martyr, praying to Almighty God to envelop him in His vast mercy. The Ministry of Defence also expresses its wishes for a speedy recovery to the injured,” read the post on X.

Dubai News LIVE: Posting on X, a day after reports emerged that Pakistan could potentially play a role in mediating peace talks between the US and Iran, Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif posted on X that his country is ready to do the same.

“Pakistan welcomes and fully supports ongoing efforts to pursue dialogue to end the WAR in Middle East, in the interest of peace and stability in region and beyond. Subject to concurrence by the US and Iran, Pakistan stands ready and honoured to be the host to facilitate meaningful and conclusive talks for a comprehensive settlement of the ongoing conflict,” he wrote.

Highlighting the strategic objectives of the ongoing military operations, Ambassador of Israel to India, Reuven Azar, stated that the primary goal is to eliminate systemic threats posed by the Iranian regime while providing an opportunity for the Iranian people to determine their own future. (ANI)

Dubai West Asia Crisis News LIVE: PM Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump just spoke to each other over a phone call and discussed the situation in the West Asia, including the importance of keeping the Strait of Hormuz open, US envoy to India Sergio Gor said in a post on X.

Dubai News LIVE Updates: The UAE's ministry of defence said that since the onset of what it described as Iranian aggression, its air defence systems have intercepted 357 ballistic missiles, 15 cruise missiles and 1,806 drones.

The attacks have led to the deaths of two armed forces personnel while on duty, as well as six civilians of Pakistani, Nepali, Bangladeshi and Palestinian nationalities.

Dubai Middle East News LIVE Updates: In case you did not know, there were reports emerging that Kuwait was facing power outages in many areas due to the strikes. But soon, Kuwait’s ministry of electricity, water and renewable energy denied these reports, saying stating that the claims were “outdated and inaccurate”.

Dubai Middle East News LIVE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his Rajya Sabha speech today, said many ships from across the world are currently stranded in the Strait of Hormuz, with a significant number of Indian crew members on board, calling it a matter of serious concern for India. He stressed that, in such a situation, a united message for peace and dialogue should emerge from the Upper House of Parliament and resonate globally.

He added that since the outbreak of the conflict, he has held two rounds of phone conversations with the heads of state of several West Asian countries.

“We are in constant contact with all Gulf nations and are also engaging with Iran, Israel and the United States,” he said.

Read more from his speech here.

Dubai and Middle East War News LIVE: Iran named a former Revolutionary Guards commander and senior figure in the hardline political faction on Tuesday to replace the powerful head of the Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, killed in U.S.-Israeli strikes last week. Mohammad Baqer Zolqadr was appointed as Larijani's successor as secretary of the SNSC, the Iranian president's deputy of communications posted on X on Tuesday. (Reuters)

Dubai News LIVE: The UAE's ministry of defence says it intercepted five ballistic missiles and 17 drones launched from Iran on Tuesday, as air defence systems were activated to counter the incoming threats.

Dubai and Middle East News LIVE: Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have taken steps toward joining the Iran war, the Wall Street Journal reported, potentially signalling an escalation of the fighting.

Saudi Arabia agreed to give the US military access to King Fahd Air Base, the WSJ reported, citing people familiar with the matter, an apparent reversal after saying its bases couldn’t be used to attack its longtime rival.

Dubai and Middle East News LIVE: Qatar's ministry of defence, on Tuesday, tweeted out that its deputy PM met the French minister of the armed forces amid the conflict in the middle east.

"HE Sheikh Saud bin Abdulrahman bin Hassan Al-Thani, Deputy Prime Minister & Minister of State for Defense Affairs, met with H. E. Mrs. Catherine Vautrin, French Minister of the Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs, during her visit to the State of Qatar.

During the meeting, the two sides reviewed latest regional developments and security updates, as well as discussing aspects of joint defense cooperation and coordination in light of the current circumstances," read the post on X.

Dubai and Gulf news LIVE updates: The UN Human Rights Council said it will hold an urgent debate Wednesday on Iran's strikes on countries across the Gulf region.

A group of countries will present a draft resolution to the United Nations' top rights body on "the recent military aggression launched by Iran against Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates... targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure, which has resulted in the loss of innocent lives", the council said in a statement Tuesday. (AFP)

Dubai and Middle East news LIVE updates: The Indian embassy in Doha said Qatar Airways operated 25 flights to India between the 20th and 22nd of this month, transporting around 7,750 Indian nationals, as per Akashvani News website.

Dubai news LIVE updates: PM Modi, while speaking in India's upper house, informed that since the outbreak of the war, he has held multiple phone discussions with leaders of the region and confirmed India's continuous engagement with all Gulf countries, including UAE, Iran, Israel, and the United States. He said that safety of Indians in the region is utmost priority of the government and the missions are doing their best to help out of the Indians.