DUBAI: Three people have been killed and 58 others injured in the UAE since Iran began its retaliatory campaign in the Gulf in response to US and Israeli attacks, authorities have said.

The UAE has detected 165 ballistic missiles, destroying 152, and intercepted two cruise missiles, its defense ministry said on Sunday.

A total of “541 Iranian drones were detected, 506 of which were intercepted and destroyed,” the ministry added in a statement.

The attacks resulted in the deaths of three people of Pakistani, Nepalese and Bangladeshi nationality, it said.

Debris from an intercepted drone damaged an Abu Dhabi complex housing the Israeli embassy and several other international missions, causing minor injuries to a woman and her child, Abu Dhabi’s state media office said.

Debris from the drone fell against the facade ‌of the ‌Etihad Towers complex after an interception that caused ‌loud ⁠sounds heard across the ⁠emirate, the media office said.

Later on Sunday, the UAE announced the closure of its embassy in Tehran, the withdrawal of its ambassador and all members of its diplomatic mission, and condemned Iranian missile attacks.

After the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran on Saturday, Iran said it would target US bases in the region. But it has also hit a range of civilian and commercial areas across Gulf cities, widening the conflict’s impact on key regional aviation and trade hubs.

As ⁠retaliatory strikes widened on Sunday they reverberated across Gulf ‌Arab states, with loud blasts ‌heard in Dubai and the Qatari capital Doha and with Oman ‌being hit for the first time.

UAE Ministry of Defense responds to targeting of Al-Salam military base

The UAE Ministry of Defense said specialized teams responded Sunday to an incident at Al-Salam naval base in Abu Dhabi after two Iranian drones targeted a warehouse, causing a fire in two containers storing general materials. No casualties were reported.

The ministry condemned the strike as a “blatant act of aggression” and a flagrant violation of national sovereignty and international law, adding that the UAE reserves the right to respond to the escalation and take all necessary measures to protect its territory, people and national interests.

It said the armed forces remain fully prepared to address any threats and will act decisively against attempts to undermine the country’s security and stability, stressing that the safety of citizens, residents and visitors is a top priority.

The ministry also urged the public to rely on official sources for information and avoid spreading rumours or unverified reports.

Ports targeted

In Dubai, two ‌people were injured after shrapnel from drones fell over two houses when they were intercepted, a Dubai state media office statement said. Dubai’s international airport, its landmark Burj Al Arab hotel and man-made Palm Jumeirah Island ‌all suffered damage overnight, as did Abu Dhabi’s international airport.

Dubai is the biggest tourism and trade hub in the Middle East and its airport is one of the world’s busiest travel hubs.

Thick black plumes of smoke continued ⁠to rise ⁠from the Jebel Ali port area, where one of the berths caught fire on Sunday because of debris from an intercepted missile.

In neighboring Oman, which was spared retaliation on Saturday, Duqm commercial port was targeted by two drones, wounding one worker, the state news agency said.

“A security source reported that the commercial port of Duqm was targeted by two drones. One drone struck a mobile workers’ accommodation, injuring one foreign worker, while debris from the other landed near fuel tanks, causing no casualties or material damage,” the Oman News Agency said in a post on X.

Saudi Arabia, in a statement released by its foreign ministry, condemned the ‘the treacherous Iranian aggression’ against Oman and reaffirmed its solidarity with its fellow Gulf nation.

Qatar’s interior ministry said on Sunday that it was responding to a limited fire in an industrial zone after debris fell from an intercepted missile.

Early Sunday, drones also struck the airport in Bahrain's capital Manama, causing minor damage, authorities said.

On Saturday, across the UAE, Iran fired 137 missiles and 209 drones at the territory, the country’s defense ministry said.

In Qatar, officials said Iran had launched 65 missiles and 12 drones toward the Gulf state, most of which were intercepted, but eight people were injured in the salvos, with one of them in critical condition.

For many residents in the Gulf, which has drawn a cosmopolitan, largely expat population, the reaction was one of shock.

“I heard the explosions, I don’t know what I felt,” a Lebanese woman living in Riyadh said.

“We came to the Gulf because it’s known to be safer than Lebanon. Now I don’t know what to do or how to think really.”