Six injured in Abu Dhabi and blasts heard in Doha, Manama

by AFP Staff Writers
Abu Dhabi (AFP) Mar 5, 2026
Debris from a drone injured six people in an industrial zone of the Emirati capital Abu Dhabi on Thursday, while Dubai, Doha and Manama were subjected to missile attacks as Iran pressed on with a retaliation campaign.

The unprecedented attacks by the Islamic republic, targeting US military assets but also American embassies and civilian infrastructure across the Gulf, continued into their sixth day after US-Israeli air strikes that devastated Iran's leadership.

At least 13 people have been killed in the Gulf, including seven civilians, since Iran began its attacks on Saturday. Washington said six US servicemen were killed, including four in Kuwait.

"Authorities in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi responded to an incident involving falling debris at two locations in the ICAD 2 area, following the successful interception of a drone by air defences," Abu Dhabi media office said in a statement.

"The incident resulted in six minor to moderate injuries to Pakistani and Nepalese nationals," it added.

In Doha, AFP journalists saw a plume of smoke rising from the Qatari capital and reported loud blasts across the city and Qatar's defence ministry said its military was working to intercept an incoming missile.

Earlier, Qatari authorities said they were evacuating residents living near Doha's US embassy.

Residents in Dubai and Manama also heard explosions earlier in the day.

The fresh salvos came hours after Qatari premier Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani lambasted his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi, Iran's foreign minister during a call.

The conversation was the first high-level contact between Tehran and a Gulf leader since the start of the attacks.

The Qatari premier accused Iran of seeking to "harm its neighbours and drag them into a war that is not theirs", according to a statement from Qatar's foreign ministry.

Explosions were also heard in Bahrain's capital Manama on Thursday.

In neighbouring Saudi Arabia, officials said they had intercepted three cruise missiles and several drones.

"Three cruise missiles were intercepted and destroyed outside the city of Al-Kharj," the Saudi defence ministry posted on X.

Elsewhere, a tanker was hit by a "large explosion" in waters off Kuwait, causing an oil spill, British maritime security agency UKMTO reported.

Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards have said they had "complete control" of the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial chokepoint connecting the Gulf to the Indian Ocean and one of the world's most vital shipping routes for energy.

CORRECTED: War in the Middle East: latest developments
Paris, France (AFP) Mar 5, 2026 - Here are the latest main events related to the war in the Middle East:

- No call for aid -

Iran has not requested military aid from its ally Russia since Israel and the United States began striking the country last week, the Kremlin said Thursday.

- Cyprus ring of steel -

Spain will send its most advanced frigate to protect Cyprus after a drone strike on a British base on the Mediterranean island sucked it into the Middle East war, the defence ministry said on Thursday.

The "Cristobal Colon" will join French aircraft carrier "Charles de Gaulle" and Greek navy ships to offer protection and help evacuate civilians, the ministry said. Italy also said it would send "naval assets" to the EU member state in coming days.

Britain's Defence Minister John Healey arrived in Cyprus on Thursday.

- Fresh Israeli strikes -

Israel's military said Thursday it had "just begun a large-scale wave of strikes against infrastructure of the Iranian terror regime across Tehran".

Iranian news agency Tasnim and local media reported several explosions heard in Tehran Thursday morning.

Earlier, AFP journalists heard explosions in Jerusalem as Iran launched a fresh round of missiles at Israel, according to Iranian state media and the Israeli military.

- Blasts in Doha -

Another round of explosions were heard over the Qatari capital Doha Thursday, AFP journalists reported, describing a column of black smoke rising on the horizon.

Qatar's defence ministry said its military was working to intercept an incoming missile attack.

Earlier, Qatar began evacuating residents living near the US embassy in Doha.

- Iran hits Iraqi Kurds -

Iran said Thursday it had targeted the headquarters of Kurdish forces in Iraqi Kurdistan with three missiles, following strikes on Kurdish regions in both Iran and Iraq.

The strikes killed a member from an exiled Iranian Kurdish group, according to a representative.

- Israel kills Hamas official -

Lebanese state media said an Israeli strike had killed a senior Hamas official Thursday, the first reported targeted killing of a member of the Palestinian militant group since the war began.

- Azerbaijan protests Iran strikes -

Azerbaijan, a close ally of Israel, on Thursday summoned Iran's envoy after two people were wounded in drone hits on an airport and near a school in the exclave of Nakhichevan, warning the attack "will not go unanswered".

- US will 'regret' sinking -

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused the United States of committing an atrocity by sinking an Iranian navy ship off Sri Lanka.

"Mark my words: The US will come to bitterly regret precedent it has set," he posted on X.

A second Iranian warship was heading towards Sri Lanka's territorial waters Thursday, a minister told parliament.

- Iran says hit US tanker -

Iran hit a US oil tanker with a missile Thursday, "in the north of the Persian Gulf" and set it on fire, Iran's Revolutionary Guards said in a statement reported by state television.

The incident has not been independently confirmed.

- Iran internet blackout -

Iran's internet is "around 1 percent of ordinary levels" with a communication blackout sparked by the war with Israel and the United States entering a fifth day, monitor Netblocks said Thursday.

- Australia deploys 'military assets' -

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Thursday that "military assets" had been deployed to the Middle East as a contingency plan.

While Albanese did not elaborate, local outlet SBS News reported they were planes.

Italy said it would send air-defence assistance to the Gulf.

- Strike hits Hezbollah stronghold -

An air strike hit the Hezbollah stronghold of south Beirut early Thursday, after an Israeli warning to residents.

Israeli strikes along Beirut's airport highway killed three people, Lebanon's health ministry said.

- Oil spill near Kuwait -

A "large explosion" hit a tanker in the waters off Kuwait, causing an oil spill, British maritime security agency UKMTO said.

"The Master of a tanker at anchor, reports witnessing and hearing a large explosion on the port side then seeing a small craft leave the vicinity" off the Gulf state's Mubarak Al-Kabeer area, the agency posted on X.

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