Gulf States Report Intercepting Missiles and Drones Amid Rising Middle East Tensions

PTI, March 15, 2026, Cairo: Arab Gulf states reported new missile and drone attacks Sunday after Iran threatened to widen its campaign as the war in the Middle East entered its third week.

Israel and the United States attacked Iran on Feb. 28, saying they were striking nuclear and military sites and encouraging the Iranian people to rise against their leaders. Iran has responded with attacks against Israel and neighbouring Gulf states.

The war, which shows no signs of ending soon, has upended global air travel, disrupted oil exports from the region and sent fuel prices rising across the world.

Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates warned residents on Sunday that they were working to intercept incoming projectiles, a day after Iran called for the evacuations of three major UAE ports, threatening for the first time a neighbouring country's non-US assets.

Iran earlier accused the US of using ports, docks and hideouts in the UAE to launch strikes on Kharg Island, home to the main terminal handling Iran's oil exports, without providing evidence.

The UAE and other Gulf countries that host US bases have denied allowing their land or airspace to be used for military operations against Iran.

Iranian strikes have killed at least a dozen civilians in Gulf states, most of them migrant workers. In Iran, the International Committee for the Red Cross said more than 1,300 people have been killed so far, while in Israel, 12 people were reported dead by Iranian missile fire, according to the national rescue service Magen David Adom.

At least 13 members of the US military have been killed since the war began, including seven in combat and six who died in a plane crash over Iraq last week.

US President Donald Trump said he hoped allies would send warships to secure the Strait of Hormuz.