KUWAIT CITY/DUBAI/MANAMA: The UAE’s defense ministry said on Sunday that Iran fired 17 ballistic missiles, of which 16 where intercepted while one fell into the sea, as well as 117 drones of which 113 were intercepted and destroyed while four fell within the country’s territory.

The missile barrage resulted into death for four individuals, the defense ministry said on a statement on X.

Emirati forces have detected 238 ballistic missiles and 1,342 drones in UAE territory since the start of Iranian attacks; 221 projectiles were destroyed, 15 fell into the sea and two landed within the country. Meanwhile, 1,342 drones were intercepted, while 80 fell within the country’s territory.

UAE air defences intercept 16 ballistic missiles, 113 UAVs

UAE air defences today (8th March, 2026) detected 17 ballistic missiles, of which 16 were destroyed, while 1 missile fell into the sea. A total of 117 UAVs were also detected, with 113 intercepted, while 4 UAVs fell… pic.twitter.com/BTikC5pRyd

— وزارة الدفاع |MOD UAE (@modgovae) March 8, 2026

Eight cruise missiles were also detected and destroyed, the ministry said.

Bahrain hit

In Bahrain, the country’s interior ministry said on Sunday an Iranian drone attack had damaged a water desalination plant as the Islamic republic presses an air campaign against its Gulf neighbors.

“The Iranian aggression randomly bombs civilian targets and causes material damage to a water desalination plant following an attack by a drone,” the ministry said in a statement, after Tehran earlier accused the US of striking one of its own desalination plants from a base in Bahrain.

Falling missile debris also injured three people and damaged a university building on Sunday, the interior ministry said.

“As a result of the blatant Iranian aggression, 3 people were injured and material damage was inflicted on a university building in the Muharraq area after missile fragments fell,” the ministry said in a statement, referring to an island area northwest of Manama.

Kuwait fire

Meanwhile, a fire at Kuwait international airport’s fuel tanks that were targeted in a drone attack was brought under control, official Kuwait News Agency said, reporting no “significant injuries”.

The military called the drone attack “a direct targeting of vital infrastructure”.

A separate statement said “some civilian facilities sustained material damage as a result of falling fragments and debris from interception operations”.

The Kuwaiti interior ministry said two border guards “were martyred … while performing their national duty”, without elaborating. It was not clear whether their deaths were the result of an Iranian attack.

Kuwait’s national oil company announced a “precautionary” cut to its crude production, as the country’s military said Sunday it had responded “to a wave of hostile drones that penetrated the country’s airspace”.

KUNA said Kuwait's Public Institution for Social Security (PIFSS) was damaged after it was hit in a drone attack. Firefighters continue to battle against the fire there, KUNA reported.

Gulf nations on Sunday reported new missile and drone attacks, while Iran vowed to press on with strikes against neighboring countries as the war entered its second week.

Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Defense reported a wave of drone attacks, saying 21 unmanned aerial vehicles were intercepted and destroyed in the last four hours.

Major General Turki Al-Maliki, spokesman for the Defense Ministry, said in separate posts on X that 13 drones were intercepted and destroyed east of the national capital, Riyadh city, while eight drones were shot down just after entering Saudi air space.

Qatar’s defense ministry said on Sunday that the country was targeted a day earlier by 10 ballistic missiles and two cruise missiles fired from Iran, but most of them were intercepted and caused no casualties.

Before midnight on Saturday, loud explosions were heard in Dubai, the Qatari capital Doha and Bahrain’s Manama, with attacks reported in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait, where the national oil company announced a “precautionary” cut to production.

The attacks came despite Iran’s president earlier apologizing to Gulf countries for earlier strikes. He had said they would no longer be targeted unless strikes were launched from their territory first.
Hours later, Iran said it would continue conducting strikes on sites in Gulf countries which were “at the disposal of the enemy.”
UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan said in a rare televised address that the Emirates were in “a period of war” and “will emerge stronger” from it.
Dubai authorities said Saturday evening one person had been killed by debris from an “aerial interception,” adding they were a Pakistani national.

Dubai airport closed, reopens 

Earlier in the day, Dubai closed its main airport — the world’s busiest for international traffic — after authorities said an unidentified object was intercepted nearby.
The government said there had been “a minor incident resulting from the fall of debris after an interception,” without directly mentioning the airport. It said there were no injuries.
The Flightradar24 tracking website earlier showed planes circling above the airport in an apparent holding pattern.
In a statement since deleted from X, Emirates, the largest airline in the Middle East, had announced it was suspending all flights to and from Dubai until further notice, but later said it had resumed operations.
The UAE, a US ally and home to American military installations, has been the most heavily targeted nation in the Gulf during the war.
Earlier in the day, the Ministry of Defense said that of the 16 ballistic missiles fired at the country on Saturday, all but one had been intercepted, with that missile falling into the sea.
Of the 121 drones detected, 119 were brought down, while two fell within Emirati territory.
The barrage brings the number of ballistic missiles detected by the UAE since the start of the war last Saturday to 221, the defense ministry said, with the number of drones surpassing 1,300.
Flights from Dubai’s main airport had partially resumed on Monday despite daily drone attacks targeting sites in the UAE.
Last Saturday, four employees were injured and an airport terminal damaged as the war broke out following US-Israeli strikes on Iran.
Iranian attacks have also hit Abu Dhabi airport, the upmarket Palm Jumeirah development and the Burj Al Arab luxury hotel over the past week, while drone debris caused a fire at the US consulate in Dubai on Tuesday.

Relentless air threats

Elsewhere in the Gulf on Saturday, Qatar’s defense ministry said its military had intercepted two missile attacks targeting the country.

Kuwait said Saturday night it had intercepted seven drones since dawn, with the attacks resulting “only in material damage from falling debris.”
And Bahrain said it has intercepted and 92 missiles and 151 drones since the start of the “brutal Iranian aggression.”
AFP journalists heard an explosion Saturday night in Manama, Bahrain’s capital, as authorities said one person was injured after rocket shrapnel fell in a public street.
In Saudi Arabia, the defense ministry said it had destroyed three ballistic missiles heading toward Prince Sultan Air Base, which hosts American troops, as well as 17 drones over the Shaybah oil field in the southeast.
Kuwait also reported intercepting a drone, while the country’s national oil company announced a “precautionary” cut to its production of crude due to Iranian attacks and threats to the Strait of Hormuz, a key transit point for Gulf hydrocarbons.
Further north, Jordan accused Iran of directly targeting sites in the kingdom, saying Tehran had fired 119 missiles and drones in the past week.
“These missiles and drones were targeting vital installations inside Jordan and were not passing through our territories,” said military spokesman Brig. Gen. Mustafa Hayari.

– with AFP