Dubai Airport attack LIVE: Smoke and flames rise from an energy installation in the Gulf emirate of Fujairah.
Dubai Airport attack LIVE: Authorities in the UAE’s Fujairah confirmed that a fire broke out in the Fujairah Oil Industries area following a drone attack. The port is significant as it serves as the country’s only oil export route that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz. Dubai Airport temporarily suspends flights…Read More
Dubai’s international airport resumed operations on Monday after a fuel tank fire caused by a drone attack forced a temporary suspension, Reuters reported.
Officials said the incident damaged fuel tanks, forcing several aircraft to circle outside the airport while emergency teams dealt with the situation.
The suspension came days after a short disruption caused by another attack. Emirates, the largest airline operating from Dubai’s busiest airport, also confirmed that flights had been suspended.
19 Indians arrested in UAE
Nineteen Indians were among the 35 people arrested by authorities in the United Arab Emirates for posting video clips on social media that allegedly contained “misleading and fabricated content” during heightened tensions in West Asia caused by the ongoing war between the United States, backed by Israel, and Iran.
A statement issued by UAE attorney-general Dr Hamad Saif Al Shamsi said the action followed strict monitoring of digital platforms aimed at stopping the spread of fabricated information and artificial content intended to provoke public disorder and undermine overall stability.
Iran accuses US of using UAE ports for attacks
Tehran said the United States used “ports, docks and hideouts” in the United Arab Emirates to carry out strikes on Kharg Island, home to Iran’s main oil export terminal.
No evidence was presented to support the claim as the conflict continues.
Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the president of the United Arab Emirates, said on social media that the country has the right to defend itself but “still prioritizes reason and logic, and continues exercising restraint.”
Iran’s attacks on neighbouring Gulf states
On Saturday, Iran’s joint military command again warned it could strike US-linked “oil, economic and energy infrastructures” in the region if the Islamic Republic’s oil facilities are attacked.
Iran has said its attacks target the US presence across the region. The United Arab Emirates, along with other Gulf countries, Iraq, Jordan and Turkey, hosts US military facilities.
Drones or missiles have also been fired at civilian areas in the United Arab Emirates. These include Dubai airport, well known hotels and the country’s financial district.
Iran wants ‘serious review’ of Gulf ties: Ambassador
Iran’s relations with Gulf countries will need a “serious review” following the US-Israeli war on Iran, the country’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia told Reuters on Sunday, adding that the influence of outside powers in the region should be limited so it can move towards prosperity.
When asked if he was worried that the war could damage ties, Ambassador Alireza Enayati said: “It’s a valid question, and the answer may be simple. We are neighbors and we cannot do without each other; we will need a serious review.”
In a written reply to questions, he said the region’s situation over the last five decades had been shaped by an exclusionary approach within the region and heavy dependence on external powers.
“What the region has witnessed over the past five decades is the result of an exclusionary approach [within the region] and an excessive reliance on external powers,” he said, calling for closer relations among the six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, along with Iraq and Iran.
Attacks continue in UAE, Saudi
The United Arab Emirates, which normalised relations with Israel, Iran’s main regional rival, in 2020, has taken the heaviest impact from the attacks. However, every Gulf Arab state has felt the effects, and all have criticised Iran.
Away from public statements, analysts and regional sources told the news agency that there is increasing frustration towards the United States. The country has long acted as their security guarantor, but now they say Washington has pulled them into a war they did not support but are now paying a heavy price for.
In Saudi Arabia, strikes have mainly hit the eastern region, where most of the kingdom’s oil production takes place. Targets have also included Prince Sultan Airbase, which hosts US forces east of Riyadh, and the Diplomatic Quarter on the western side of the Saudi capital, according to statements from the Saudi defence ministry.
Saudi Arabia and Iran restored full diplomatic relations in 2023 after years of hostility that had seen both sides support rival political and military groups across the region.
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Mar 16, 2026 10:26:14 PM IST
Dubai Abu Dhabi new LIVE updates: Iran denied US President Donald Trump’s assertion that it wants ceasefire talks, launching fresh attacks across the Persian Gulf and forcing a suspension of flights at Dubai’s main airport.
The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia reported drone and missile attacks overnight into Monday. Dubai halted flights at its main airport following a fire at a fuel tank that it said was caused by an Iranian drone. It announced a gradual resumption a few hours later, though Emirates said some of its scheduled flights for the day would be canceled.
The key UAE oil-export port of Fujairah was hit again on Monday, following a strike on Saturday that forced it to suspend some shipments for about a day. (Bloomberg)
Mar 16, 2026 9:59:07 PM IST
Dubai Abu Dhabi new LIVE updates: Iran said it was ready to take the Middle East war “as far as necessary” as it launched strikes across the region on Monday, while US allies pushed back against Donald Trump’s call for help to reopen a vital shipping lane.
Global oil prices have surged by 40 to 50 percent as Iran attacks shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and launches waves of missile and drone strikes in the Gulf in retaliation for the war launched by the United States and Israel on February 28.
US President Trump said he would hold a news conference on Monday, after several European countries rejected the idea of a NATO mission to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. (AFP)
Mar 16, 2026 9:40:02 PM IST
Dubai Abu Dhabi new LIVE updates: UAE’s ADNOC suspends oil loading at Fujairah terminal, news agency AFP reported citing sources.
Mar 16, 2026 9:20:48 PM IST
Dubai Abu Dhabi new LIVE updates: As the Strait of Hormuz remains closed with Iran squeezing oil trade and the global economy in retaliation for US-Israeli strikes, Saudi Arabia is reportedly offering on an alterative plan. But that comes with some caveats, underlining further how important the strait remains.
The Saudi regime, firmly on the US side in the war on its age-old nemesis Iran, is giving long-term oil customers the option of receiving their allocations for the month of April via a Red Sea port called Yanbu, news agency Bloomberg reported on Monday, March 16.
But buyers who choose Yanbu will only get a portion of their monthly supply. Because, there are constraints on how much crude the pipeline to this port can carry, as per traders who have been informed by Saudi state-run oil firm Aramco.
The other option remain via the Persian Gulf, but at the risk of not getting any supply at all if the Strait of Hormuz remains under a blockade. Aramco, the world’s biggest oil exporter, declined to comment on Bloomberg’s request.
Mar 16, 2026 9:03:00 PM IST
Dubai Abu Dhabi new LIVE updates: As per an official statement from authorities in Dubai, the fire at the airport has been extinguished.
“Civil defense teams have confirmed the end of the fuel tank fire in the vicinity of Dubai International Airport, and cooling operations are currently underway,” read the official statement.
Mar 16, 2026 8:47:31 PM IST
Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: Dubai’s main airport resumed operations Monday after a drone triggered a fuel-tank fire, suspending flights for several hours and further disrupting the aviation hub’s efforts to maintain normality during the prolonged Iran war.
Emirates restarted a limited flight schedule after 10 a.m. local time. The state-owned carrier canceled some flights after the airport suspended operations for more than seven hours. That’s the longest halt since Dubai restarted travel through what it calls “safe air corridors” three days into the war.
Several aircraft departed Dubai International Airport for destinations including Shanghai, Cairo and Hanoi, according to data from Flightradar24. Several Emirates planes that were diverted earlier are still at airports across the United Arab Emirates and different continents. (Bloomberg)
Mar 16, 2026 8:30:06 PM IST
Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: Iran’s threats against oil tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz — a chokepoint through which some 20 percent of global exports pass in peacetime — has forced countries in the region to seek alternative routes.
But analysts warn those routes are not yet sufficient to deal fully with global oil demand.
“Saudi Arabia and the UAE can reroute some crude output to terminals outside the Gulf,” the International Energy Agency stated in its latest monthly oil report, saying that this can “help offset lost crude flows via Hormuz.”
But data intelligence firm Kpler warns that alternative export routes “remain insufficient, with record loadings from Fujairah (UAE) and Yanbu (Saudi Arabia) still leaving effective Middle Eastern exports at only about one-third of normal levels.”
Kpler says Asian refiners are expected to step up purchases of long-haul cargoes from the Atlantic Basin with no quick reopening of Strait of Hormuz traffic likely.
Almost 20 million barrels per day (mb/d), or about 20 percent of global oil consumption, typically pass through the Strait of Hormuz, mostly bound for China, India, South Korea and Japan.
According to the IEA, some 350 oil tankers, some loaded and some empty, are currently stranded in the area.
Iran views those belonging to the United States and its allies as “legitimate targets.”
Only some 80 ships have been able to pass through the strait since the start of the war on February 28. (AFP)
Mar 16, 2026 8:25:23 PM IST
Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: Missiles and drone attacks struck across the UAE on Monday, disrupting travel at Dubai airport, causing a fire in a crucial oil hub in the east and killing one civilian.
Even the usually quiet northern emirate of Umm Al Quwain was not spared, with a drone attack damaging an unspecified building but inflicting no casualties, authorities said.
The slew of attacks came a day after Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said US bases in the Middle East were used to bomb it and that missiles had been launched from the UAE to strike Kharg Island. UAE officials have denied the claim.
In the eastern emirate of Fujairah, a drone attack on oil infrastructure sparked a fire, days after an AFP journalist saw smoke rising from a major Emirati energy installation there. (AFP)
Mar 16, 2026 7:55:05 PM IST
Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: Flight operations to Dubai were affected after two Emirates flights returned to Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram airports following security concerns reported at the destination airport on Monday, authorities said.
Flight EK533 departed Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) at 4.30 am with 325 people on board. En route, the aircraft was directed to turn back due to the sudden closure of Dubai International Airport, airport spokespersons said.
The flight landed back at CIAL at 8.30 am, and the passengers were later disembarked, the spokesperson said. (PTI)
Mar 16, 2026 7:37:50 PM IST
Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: UAE’s Ministry of Defence said, “The UAE air defence systems on 16th March 2026 engaged 6 ballistic missiles and 21 UAVs launched from Iran. Since the onset of the blatant Iranian aggression, UAE air defences have engaged 304 ballistic missiles, 15 cruise missiles and 1,627 UAVs… A total of 145 people were also injured, with injuries ranging from minor to moderate and severe. The injured included nationals of the UAE, Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, the Philippines, Pakistan, Iran, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Azerbaijan, Yemen, Uganda, Eritrea, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Bahrain, Comoros, Türkiye, Iraq, Nepal, Nigeria, Oman, Jordan, Palestine, Ghana, Indonesia and Sweden…”
Mar 16, 2026 7:23:31 PM IST
Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: A drone attack caused a fire in a building in the north of the UAE on Monday, authorities said, amid a slew of nationwide attacks that disrupted Dubai’s airport, hit an oil hub and killed a civilian.
“A building in the emirate of Umm Al Quwain was targeted by a drone, causing a fire but resulting in no injuries,” the Umm Al Quwain Government Media Office said in a statement published by the official WAM news agency, without naming the building. (AFP)
Mar 16, 2026 6:37:36 PM IST
Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: Abu Dhabi state oil giant ADNOC has suspended crude loading operations at the United Arab Emirates port of Fujairah, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters on Monday, after a drone attack triggered fires at the key export terminal.
Some other loading at the hub has resumed, however, two other sources said, with one saying two of the port’s three single point moorings, at which ships dock, are operational. (Reuters)
Mar 16, 2026 6:10:20 PM IST
Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: Forty-five flights from various countries in the Gulf region, includng the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman and the Qatar are expected to land at various airports in India on Monday, an Indian government official said adding that around 2,20,000 Indians have returned to the country since February 28, when the war first began.
Flights are operating from Qatar, as its airspace has partially reopened, with three flights expected today and tomorrow to different destinations in India, according to Aseem Mahajan, Joint Secretary (Gulf) at the Ministry of External Affairs.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that 550 Indian nationals have crossed into Armenia through the land border. At the same time, 90 Indians have travelled into Azerbaijan from Iran via the land border. (ANI)
Mar 16, 2026 5:55:59 PM IST
Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: US Embassy issued an advisory for citizens on Monday.
Mar 16, 2026 5:48:41 PM IST
Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: The key port of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates resumed oil loadings after it was halted following a drone strike, the latest in a series of hits threatening the country’s only export route outside the Strait of Hormuz.
A drone attack caused a fire in the petrochemicals complex in the area, the Fujairah Media office said Monday.
Oil loadings, which had been briefly halted as a precautionary measure, have restarted, a person people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be identified because they aren’t authorized to speak to the media.
Fujairah is a major hub for both crude and fuels, and has taken on increased significance for both the UAE and global markets because of its position outside the Strait of Hormuz, which has been all-but-closed because of the war.
The latest attack follows a warning from Iran’s military on Saturday that Fujairah and other UAE ports of Jebel Ali and Port Khalifa had become legitimate targets due to the presence of US military forces in civilian facilities, the semi-official Fars news agency had reported. (Bloomberg)
Mar 16, 2026 5:42:59 PM IST
Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: A drone strike hit an oil industry zone near UAE’s Fujairah port on Monday, triggering a fire in the area just days after a similar attack took place in the Gulf nation’s key important energy hubs.
Fujairah remains one of the UAE’s most critical energy hubs, primarily because it is located outside the Strait of Hormuz. The port serves as a major crude export terminal, handling around 1 million barrels per day of the UAE’s Murban crude oil which equivalent to nearly 1% of global oil demand.
Mar 16, 2026 5:41:01 PM IST
Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: Nineteen Indians were among the 35 people arrested by authorities in the United Arab Emirates for posting video clips on social media that allegedly contained “misleading and fabricated content” during heightened tensions in West Asia caused by the ongoing war between the United States, backed by Israel, and Iran.
Notably, authorities had issued repeated warnings to residents earlier, asking them not to film attack sites, share footage of interceptions, or circulate unverified information online.
Mar 16, 2026 5:36:58 PM IST
Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: Saudi Arabia is giving long-term oil customers the option of receiving their allocations for April via the Red Sea port of Yanbu as it prepares for lengthy disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.
Buyers who choose Yanbu will only get a portion of their monthly supply due to constraints on how much crude the pipeline to the port can carry, said traders who have been informed by state-run Saudi Aramco. The other option is to receive oil from the Persian Gulf, but at the risk of not getting any if the strait remains closed, said the traders, who asked not to be named as they’re not allowed to speak to media.
Aramco, the world’s biggest oil exporter, shipped 7.2 million barrels a day of crude last month, before Iran effectively blocked Hormuz, most of which was exported from its Gulf terminals of Ras Tanura and Juaymah. The Saudis have a 5 million barrel-a-day pipeline that runs across the country to the Red Sea, although export capacity at Yanbu may be smaller than that. (Bloomberg)
Mar 16, 2026 5:31:41 PM IST
US-Iran War: China’s biggest oil refiner Sinopec has trimmed run rates as the widening Middle East war and difficulties shipping through the Strait of Hormuz choke supplies of crude.
The state-owned company is reducing total processing by about 10% from its original plan for this month, according to people familiar with the situation.
The cuts exclude production losses from ongoing planned maintenance, they said, asking not to be named as the matter is private.
Sinopec’s refineries process about 5.2 million barrels of crude a day, around a third of total Chinese output.
A 10% reduction means the company’s throughput in March, usually a peak refining season as demand rises ahead of spring and summer, could fall by more than 500,000 barrels a day. The refiner imports more than half of its crude from the Middle East. (Bloomberg)
Mar 16, 2026 4:28:13 PM IST
Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: Dubai airport has urged travellers not to proceed to DXB unless they have been directly contacted by their airline with a confirmed departure time.
Mar 16, 2026 4:24:19 PM IST
Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: A fire broke out in Umm Al Quwain building after drone strike.
Mar 16, 2026 4:21:25 PM IST
Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: Dubai’s main airport resumed operations Monday after a drone triggered a fuel-tank fire, suspending flights for several hours and further disrupting the aviation hub’s efforts to maintain normality during the prolonged Iran war.
Emirates restarted a limited flight schedule after 10 a.m. local time. The state-owned carrier canceled some flights after the airport suspended operations for more than seven hours. That’s the longest halt since Dubai restarted travel through what it calls “safe air corridors” three days into the war.
Several aircraft departed Dubai International Airport for destinations including Shanghai, Cairo and Hanoi, according to data from Flightradar24. Several Emirates planes that were diverted earlier are still at airports across the United Arab Emirates and different continents. (Bloomberg)
Mar 16, 2026 3:59:05 PM IST
Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: Oman Air has suspended services to nine key destinations due to ongoing airspace restrictions across parts of the region.
Mar 16, 2026 3:42:59 PM IST
Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: The key port of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates was hit by a drone, the latest in a series of strikes threatening the country’s only export route outside the Strait of Hormuz.
A drone attack caused a fire in the petrochemicals complex in the area, the Fujairah Media office said Monday. Oil loadings have been halted as a precautionary measure as the damage was being assessed, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be identified because they aren’t authorized to speak to the media. Loading at the port had restarted over the weekend after a previous drone strike caused a fire on Saturday. (Bloomberg)
Mar 16, 2026 3:32:17 PM IST
Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Mohammed bin Salman held a phone call to review the latest regional developments as military actions intensify. Both leaders discussed the serious risks such escalation poses to regional and global security and stability, Gulf News reported.
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