Iranian drones attack major UAE oil refinery and target largest US military base in Qatar – live updates

The Iranian army has said it has launched attacks on Israel and a US military base in Qatar, as the war raged for a fourth day.

‘The destructive combat drones of the army’s ground, air, and naval forces… targeted the military areas of the Zionist regime in the occupied territories and the bases of American forces in Al-Udeid, Qatar,’ said the army in a statement carried by Shargh daily.

Al-Udeid air base is the largest US military base in the Middle East, hosting an estimated10,000 military personnel.

Here’s what you need to know as the US-Israel war with Iran enters the fourth day:

• Saudi Arabia has condemned an Iranian drone attack at the US embassy in Riyadh last night as ‘unjustified’ and ‘cowardly’
• Israel has struck Iran’s presidential office in Tehran and deployed troops to enter Lebanon to take up new positions against Hezbollah
• Donald Trump has accused Sir Keir Starmer of putting the US-UK Special Relationship in peril after he failed to back him over the Iran war
• France has deployed jets over the UAE and sent warships to defend Cyprus where a British RAF base was attacked
• An Iranian general has warned Tehran will ‘burn every ship’ in the Strait of Hormuz amid fears oil prices will rise further
• The United Nations has confirmed damage to Iran’s Natanz nuclear enrichment plant following US-Israeli strikes
• A drone interception has resulted in a fire breaking out at a major oil trading hub in the UAE

Qatar’s military thwarted attacks on Hamad International Airport, according to the Gulf state’s foreign ministry spokesman

‘There were attempts to attack Hamad International Airport, they were all thwarted… the missiles were downed by our defensive measures, and none of them have reached the airport,’ Majed al-Ansari told a press conference.

He also added Qatar had not been in contact with Iran since the start of the strikes.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards warned they would unleash more intense attacks on the United States and Israel as the war raged for the fourth day.

‘The enemy must await continuous punitive attacks; the gates of hell will open more and more, moment by moment, upon the United States and Israel,’ the Guards spokesman Ali Mohammad Naini told state TV.

It comes as the Iranian army declared it had launched new strikes on Israel and in Qatar at the site of the largest American military base in the Middle East.

by Olivia Christie

Just a handful of UK-bound flights are due to leave the Middle East today as thousands of Brits remain stranded in the middle of a warzone.

The first evacuation flight from the United Arab Emirates touched down at Heathrow Airport last night with relieved passengers hugging their loved ones in the arrivals hall.

Many told of their ‘terrifying ordeals’ after becoming trapped in the region when Iran began retaliatory strikes on tourist and expat hotspots including Dubai and Abu Dhabi over the weekend.

Today, Emirates and Etihad Airways are operating just five UK-bound flights from the Middle East compared to the dozens they usually run every day. The three scheduled to land at Heathrow from Dubai and Abu Dhabi are all currently delayed.

Emirates will run two flights to Heathrow and one each to Gatwick and Manchester. Etihad Airways has scheduled one flight from Abu Dhabi to London.

Meanwhile, British Airways and Qatar Airways have cancelled all of their timetabled flights between the Middle East and the UK as airspaces remain closed.

by David Wilcock

France is sending two warship and anti-missile and anti-drone systems to Cyprus amid deepening questions about Britain’s ability to defend its own bases from Iranian attacks.

Emmanuel Macron has ordered units to the eastern Mediterranean island after RAF Akrotiri was struck by a drone which pierced its air defences on Sunday night, according to local media cited by Reuters.

The frigates will supplement forces already in the region and the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier strike group, which has been ordered to deploy to the Eastern Mediterranean from the Baltic.

The Cyprus Mail said president Nikos Christodoulides appealed to both Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to send naval vessels to help protect the island.

The damage to Akrotiri was said to be ‘minimal’ and there were no casualties, officials said, but the very fact that Tehran was able to hit the base has highlighted potential gaps in depleted UK forces’ ability to defend it

by Olivia Allhusen

Iran has stepped up threats to international shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, with a senior Revolutionary Guards commander warning Tehran would ‘burn every ship’ attempting to pass and drive oil prices to $200 a barrel.

Brigadier General Jabbari, an adviser to the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, made the remarks on state television on Monday, declaring the vital waterway effectively closed.

‘The Strait of Hormuz is closed. Anyone who wants to pass, our devotee heroes in the IRGC navy and the army will set those ships on fire,’ he said. ‘Don’t come to this region.’

In a separate message posted on the Guards’ Telegram channel, Jabbari warned: ‘We will also attack oil pipelines and will not allow a single drop of oil to leave the region.

‘Oil price will reach $200 in the coming days.’

The rhetoric from Tehran has echoed across global energy markets, with traders weighing the risk that Iran could seek to disrupt traffic through one of the world’s most strategically important waterways.

Saudi Arabia condemned an Iranian attack targeting the US embassy in Riyadh, and stressed it reserved the right to respond, a foreign ministry statement said.

The building in Riyadh was hit by two drones resulting in a limited fire and some material damage

The Saudi foreign ministry in a statement expressed ‘its strongest condemnation and rejection of the heinous attack that targeted the US Embassy building in Riyadh’, describing it as ‘cowardly and unjustified’.

the kingdom also reaffirmed its full right to take all necessary measures to defend its security and vital interests, including the option of responding to any aggression.

The Israeli military says it had carried out air strikes on Iran’s presidential office and the National Security Council building in Tehran as part of its latest offensive.

‘The Israeli Air Force… struck and dismantled facilities within the leadership compound of the Iranian terrorist regime in the heart of Tehran” overnight, the military said.

‘During the strike on the compound, numerous munitions were dropped on the presidential office and the building of the Supreme National Security Council,’ it added.

Buildings have been reduced to rubble in central Tehran

Donald Trump says Sir Keir Starmer ‘has not been helpful’ and has put the Special Relationship in peril after failing to back his war with Iran.

The US President said it is ‘very sad’ that relations between Britain and the United States are now ‘not like it used to be’.

Blaming Sir Keir directly, Mr Trump said: ‘He has not been helpful. I never thought I’d see that. I never thought I’d see that from the UK. We love the UK. It’s very sad to see that the relationship is obviously not what it was.

‘This was the most solid relationship of all. And now we have very strong relationships with other countries in Europe.

‘It’s not going to matter, but (Sir Keir) should have helped… he should have. I mean, France has been great. They’ve all been great. The UK has been much different from others.’

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Iran has warned European countries against joining its conflict with Israel and the United States, describing it as an ‘act of war’.

Germany, Britain and France have all indicated they could take ‘defensive action’ to destroy Iran’s missile-launching capabilities and protect their interests in the Middle East.

When asked at a press briefing, foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said: ‘It would be an act of war. Any such act against Iran would be regarded as complicity with the aggressors.

‘It would be regarded as an act of war against Iran.’

The Iranian Red Crescent has said more than 780 people have been killed nationwide since the United States and Israel started striking Iran.

‘According to field reports from operational teams, unfortunately, 787 compatriots have been martyred in these attacks,’ the Red Crescent said on its website.

It said strikes since Saturday had hit 153 cities and more than 500 locations across Iran in more than 1,000 attacks.

Cars queue outside a petrol station in Dubai

by Martin Robinson

Desperate wealthy expats in Dubai have been driving across the desert to escape Iranian attacks via neighbouring Oman or Saudi Arabia on £20,000-a-seat private jets.

One multi-millionaire who fled the United Arab Emirates’ largest city was spotted at a luxury hotel in Muscat yesterday having driven for five hours in his Ferrari.

Some are choosing the even longer journey by road from Dubai to Riyadh, which takes 10 to 11 hours. Others have tried to leave via Dammam on Saudi’s east coast, despite its proximity to Bahrain, which was bombed overnight.

Queues have formed at petrol stations in Dubai as petrol prices rise and some leave by car.

Private jet bookings are up 55 per cent – reportedly commanding a fee of up to £260,000 per trip or £20,000 per spot on a 13-seat plane – as the rich and powerful flee the wartorn Middle East.