EXPLAINER
Dubai contained a fire near its airport and temporarily suspended flights, while Trump claimed Iran wants to negotiate.
Published On 16 Mar 2026
Israel launched a new wave of attacks on Tehran as the US-Israel war on Iran entered its 17th day on Monday.
Escalations continue in the Gulf region, where authorities suspended flights at Dubai international airport after a drone incident sparked a fire nearby. Dubai-based Emirates announced later that it was resuming limited flights, with several planned routes cancelled for the day.
Saudi Arabia also reported intercepting drones. Attacks also continued in Iraq and Lebanon.
Meanwhile, in a social media post, United States President Donald Trump, without providing evidence, accused Iran of being a “master of media manipulation” by using artificial intelligence (AI) to spread disinformation about its war gains.
Here is what we know about what happened in the past 24 hours:
In Iran
- Israel announced that it launched a new wave of strikes in Tehran. After this, Iran’s Mehr news agency reported that Iran was responding to “hostile targets in the skies” over Tehran.
- The Iranian Red Crescent Society said the latest Israeli raids damaged one of its clinics and an aid relief post.
- During an interview with CBS News on Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi dismissed Trump’s claim that Tehran wants truce talks. “No, we never asked for a ceasefire, and we have never asked even for negotiation. We are ready to defend ourselves as long as it takes,” he said.
- The spokesperson for Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Brigadier-General Ali Mohammad Naini, told a local broadcaster that most of the IRGC’s weapons cache remains intact. He said the missiles used in the ongoing war are from a “decade ago” and that Iran has not yet fired the missiles produced since the 12-day war with Israel.
- Iranian authorities arrested 18 people accused of working for Iran International, the satellite news channel Tehran has accused of having ties to Israel, according to state-funded broadcaster Press TV.
- As of Sunday, 1,444 people were killed in Iran, while 18,551 have been injured.
In the Gulf
- Authorities in Dubai reported that a fire erupted after a drone-related incident in the vicinity of the Dubai airport. Authorities said a fuel tank was affected, and the fire had been contained. Flights at the airport were temporarily suspended but then resumed a limited schedule on Monday.
- Saudi Arabia said it intercepted 37 drones in its east on Monday. Riyadh did not say where the drones came from.
- Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar also reported drone interceptions on Sunday.
- Saudi state media reported that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan discussed the latest regional developments during a phone call, affirming that the GCC countries will continue to exert all their efforts to defend their territories.
In the US
- Trump, on board Air Force One, said the US was hitting Iran’s drone factories. “Iran has very little firepower left. We have decimated their manufacturing capability,” he said.
- In a Truth Social post, Trump wrote Iran is “Militarily ineffective and weak” and that they are using AI as a “disinformation weapon”. He added: “They showed phony ‘Kamikaze Boats’, shooting at various Ships at Sea, which looks wonderful, powerful, and vicious, but these Boats don’t exist.”
In Israel
- Local media reported that air raid sirens were activated in central Israel early on Monday as a missile was fired from Iran, but the projectiles landed in an open area, and no casualties were reported. Later, sirens blared in the south of Israel.
In Iraq, Lebanon and Jordan
- An Iraqi security source told Al Jazeera that an air raid hit the headquarters of the pro-Iranian Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) in the Jurf al-Sakhar area. Three people were injured in this attack.
- Iraqi security sources told Al Jazeera that the country’s air defences responded to drones near the US Embassy in Baghdad and the Balad airbase in the Salah al-Din governorate.
- Israel launched new waves of raids on southern Lebanon. The Israeli military said it was launching limited ground operations against Hezbollah. The death toll in Lebanon has risen to 850, including more than 100 children.
- The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said non-state armed groups fired upon three of its patrols on Sunday afternoon.
