Qatar and UAE continue to fend off aerial threats from Iran say officials

FILE PHOTO: Qatar airline staff stand by a departure board displaying cancelled flights to Middle East countries amid the US-Israel conflict with Iran, at Heathrow Airport Terminal 4, in Greater London, Britain, March 2, 2026. (Reuters)
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Updated 03 March 2026
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Qatar and UAE continue to fend off aerial threats from Iran say officials

Qatar has said its military thwarted attacks on Hamad International Airport, the Gulf state’s foreign ministry spokesman said on Tuesday, as Iran pressed a retaliatory campaign across the Gulf.

“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.

Al-Ansari said on Tuesday ‌that ‌there ​was ‌no ⁠ongoing communication ​with Iran.

The spokesperson ⁠also said Iranian ⁠targets ‌were not ‌limited to ​military ‌sites, ‌but included all Qatari ‌territory.

In a separate press conference the United Arab Emirates said it has strategic reserves of air defence systems capable of countering aerial threats for a prolonged period, a defence ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday, as the US-Israel war against Iran escalates.

The spokesperson added that the UAE will not accept any infringement on its sovereignty or the safety of its territory.

The UAE state minister for international cooperation added that the UAE was not looking to expand the war.

“We do not seek an expansion of this conflict and do not believe that military solutions lead to stable outcomes,” she said.

(With agencies)


Two Syrian soldiers injured during mine-clearing in Latakia 

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Two Syrian soldiers injured during mine-clearing in Latakia 

  • Engineering units were removing mines and unexploded ordnance from agricultural land and forested areas in the village of Nahshaba
  • Mines and unexploded ordnance left by the former Bashar Assad regime continue to pose a significant hazard to civilians in various parts of Syria

LONDON: Two members of the Syrian army engineering unit were injured on Tuesday when an anti-personnel mine detonated during a clearance operation in Latakia countryside, near the Mediterranean.

Engineering units were removing mines and unexploded ordnance from agricultural land and forested areas in the village of Nahshaba, located in the Jabal Al-Akrad region, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency.

The operation is part of a nationwide effort to secure areas affected by the country’s civil war, which lasted from 2011 to 2024, and to allow residents to return to their villages. Mines and unexploded ordnance left by the former Bashar Assad regime continue to pose a significant hazard to civilians in various parts of the Syrian Arab Republic, the SANA added.

Last week, two members of the Syrian Internal Security Forces were killed, and three were injured by a landmine in Al-Sanamayn, a city in the Daraa province of southern Syria.