• UK says drone attack on Cyprus did not originate from Iran
• Turkiye says missile fired towards it ‘had veered off course’
• UAE, Qatar, Bahrain claim intercepting missiles, drones
• Egypt in throes of economic crisis

TEHRAN / DUBAI: Countries in the Middle East are reeling from a spate of attacks as the US-Israeli war on Iran spreads across the region, and beyond.

Thirteen people, seven of them civilians, have been killed in countries around the Gulf since the war began, including an 11-year-old girl in Kuwait.

Although the attacks on Qatar, UAE, Bahrain, and even Turkiye and Azerbaijan have been blamed on Tehran, the Iranians continue to insist that they are only targeting US bases and positions across the region, and are not responsible for any attacks on civilian infrastructure.

Although Iran’s armed forces denied firing any missile towards Turkiye, and Ankara itself said the missile seemed to have been “aimed at a base in Greek Cyprus but veered off course”, the Nato alliance strengthened its “ballistic missile defence posture”

The general staff of the Iranian armed forces denied any aggression against Oman, according to state-run IRNA.

Iran’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia Alireza Enayati also categorically denied that his country attacked the US embassy in Riyadh this week, following accusations by Saudi Arabia that Iran targeted the compound with drones.

“We confirmed that Iran has no role in the attack on the US embassy in Riyadh,” the ambassador told AFP. “If the operations command in Tehran attacks somewhere, it takes responsibility for it.”

Azerbaijan also closed part of its airspace after four people were wounded in drone attacks on an airport and near a school. But Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused Israel of launching the drone attack in Azerbaijan that was blamed on Iran, describing it as an attempt to harm Tehran’s relations with its neighbour.

This claim seemed to be lent credence by a statement from the UK Ministry of Defence, which said that the drone that hit the Royal Air Force Akrotiri base in Cyprus was not launched from Iran, BBC News reported.

Officials reportedly believe the “Shahed-type drone” evaded detection by flying low and slow on Sunday, but London has still not confirmed where exactly the drone was launched from – and who was responsible.

According to Middle East Eye, the MoD said it believes the drone was launched by a pro-Iran militia in Lebanon or in western Iraq, but an investigation has proved unable to conclusively establish the launch location.

Bahrain in the crosshairs

Bahrain govt says facility in oil infrastructure area attacked + it has destroyed dozens of Iranian missiles and drones Bahrain’s interior ministry has said one of its facilities in an industrial zone housing an oil refinery has been attacked, and one witness told AFP they saw smoke rising from the area.

The Bahrain Defence Force later said it had destroyed 75 missiles and 123 drones launched by Iran in “its ongoing terrorist aggression against the Kingdom”.

Missiles, drones over UAE

A witness has reported to Reuters that they have heard repeated explosions near Abu Dhabi’s Zayed International Airport.

Meanwhile, footage showed a massive fire still raging at a Fujairah, UAE oil depot two days after falling debris from an intercepted drone ignited it.

The UAE’s Ministry of Defence has said its air defence systems successfully intercepted three ballistic missiles today and detected 129 drones, of which 121 were intercepted.

Qatar clears areas near embassy

The ministry stated that since the start of the conflict, 189 ballistic missiles launched towards the UAE have been detected, with 175 missiles destroyed, 13 falling into the sea and one missile landing within the territory.

Published in Dawn, March 6th, 2026