Drone strike near Dubai airport sets fuel tank ablaze – live

An Emirates plane prepares to land as smoke rises near Dubai airport

Here are the latest events in the Iran war as the conflict enters its third week:

• Dubai airport halted flights after a drone struck a fuel tank nearby in latest incident to disrupt travel at one of the world’s busiest hubs
• Oil loading operations have been suspended at the United Arab Emirates port of Fujairah after a drone attack
• The Israeli military said it has begun what it described as ‘limited ground’ against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon
• Oil prices rose further, with Brent North Sea Crude up three percent to $106.50 per barrel in Monday trading
• Saudi Arabia intercepts more than 60 drones since midnight
• Donald Trump said the United States was in discussions with Iran but that Tehran was not ready for a deal to end the war
• The US President said NATO faces a “very bad” future if US allies fail to help open the Strait of Hormuz

Dubai International Airport was temporarily closed this morning after Iranian drones blew up a fuel tank nearby.

No injuries were reported and the fire was brought under control by Dubai Civil Defence teams.

There have been 95 flight cancellations today at the airport, with a further 75 delayed following the strikes, according to Flight Aware. The airport is one of the busiest travel hubs in the world serving more than 95 million passengers last year.

Airport bosses have urged travellers to use their official support channels in the wake of the disruptions.

Flights have gradually resumed this morning.

The UAE airline Emirates said it expected to operate a ‘limited schedule’ after 10:00 am Dubai time (0600 GMT) and that some flights had been cancelled.

It had earlier told passengers not to come to the airport and said it was working with authorities ‘to assess the situation and support the safe resumption of operations when possible’.

A Palestinian civilian was killed on the outskirts ofAbu Dhabi when a missile hit their car on Monday, authorities said.

‘Authorities in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi responded to an incident in the Al Bahia area involving a missile strike on a civilian vehicle, which resulted in the death of one Palestinian national,’ the Abu Dhabi Media Office said in a statement.

The UAE has been targeted by Iranian drones and missiles causing fires near Dubai airport and Fujairah oil terminal.

Iran has fired over 1,900 missiles and drones at the United Arab Emirates, more than any other country targeted by Tehran since the start of the Middle East war.

Germany does not see a role for the NATO defence alliance in addressing the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, foreign minister Johann Wadephul has said

‘I don’t see that NATO has made any decision in this direction or could assume responsibility for the Strait of Hormuz.

‘If that were the case, then the NATO bodies would address it accordingly,’ said Wadephul ahead of a meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels.

Donald Trump ratcheted up pressure on European allies to help protect the strait, warning that NATO faces a ‘very bad’ future if its members fail to come to Washington’s aid.

Saudi Arabia has intercepted more than 60 drones since midnight, according to a tally of defence ministry figures released today.

The Saudi defence ministry posted a series of statements on X describing the interception of a total of 61 drones in the east of the country in the early hours.

Yesterday, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman spoke with United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

The pair affirmed that continued Iranian attacks on Gulf countries represent a dangerous escalation threatening regional stability, Saudi state media reported.

The Iranian men’s football team is still planning to play in the upcoming World Cup in North America, Asian football officials said today.

President Donald Trump warned the team on Thursday that their ‘life and safety’ could be at risk, should they play in this summer’s tournament, co-hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico.

‘As far as we know, Iran is playing,’ said Windsor Paul John, the Asian Football Confederation’s general secretary.

‘We are monitoring whether they are playing or not, but at the moment they are. There is no official information that they are not playing,’ he told a press conference at the AFC’s headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.

Windsor stressed that the AFC wanted Iran, a ‘top team’, to play in the global showpiece.

‘So we hope that they will solve their issues… and be able to participate in the World Cup,’ he said.

Israel has warned Iran’s new Supreme Leader that it ‘knows where he is’ after Donald Trump suggested he might already be dead.

Mojtaba Khamenei was wounded in US-Israeli strikes and has not been seen since the start of the war prompting wild speculation over his condition.

A statement attributed to the Iranian leader was read out on state TV last Thursday to stifle rumours that he was killed after his father Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was assassinated. But he was not seen.

Mr Trump responded by fanning the flames over the weekend, telling NBC News: ‘I don’t know if he’s even alive. So far, nobody’s been able to show him.’

He said he had heard a ‘rumour’ of his death, adding: ‘I’m hearing he’s not alive, and if he is, he should do something very smart for his country, and that’s surrender…

‘Some of them think he’s alive but very badly wounded.’

But on Sunday night, an Israeli security official told the Daily Mail bluntly: ‘We know where he is.’

EU foreign ministers will today discuss expanding the bloc’s Red Sea naval mission to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, European Commission Vice-President Kaja Kallas said.

The Iran war has virtually halted activity in the key waterway, through which a fifth of the world’s crude supplies and a substantial amount of gas normally run – sending oil prices soaring.

‘It is in our interest to keep the Strait of Hormuz open, and that’s why we are also discussing what we can do in this regard,’ Kallas told journalists in Brussels ahead of the talks.

An option on the table would be to change the mandate of the EU’s naval mission in the Red Sea, Operation Aspides, Kallas said.

She suggested this would be the ‘fastest’ way for the 27-member bloc to boost security in the Strait of Hormuz, where Iranian retaliatory attacks to a US-Israeli bombing campaign have largely halted maritime traffic.

‘If we want to have security in this region, then it would be easiest to actually already use the operation that we have in the region, and maybe a change a bit,’ she said.

Oil prices jumped further above $100 a barrel today and Asian stocks mostly fell as the Iran war moved into a third week.

Both sides are showing no sign of backing down as diplomats try to ensure safe passage for tankers through the crucial Strait of Hormuz.

Crude shot up in the opening minutes of trading after Donald Trump said at the weekend that forces struck military targets on Kharg Island, a scrubby stretch of land in the Gulf that handles almost all of Iran’s oil exports.

Both main crude contracts advanced, with Brent up around three percent to as high as $106.50 before paring the gains to about $104, while West Texas Intermediate climbed more than two percent to top $100.

Trump warned attacks could expand to energy infrastructure if the Islamic republic interferes with transit through Hormuz, which has been effectively closed since the US-Israel operations began on February 28.

Sir Keir Starmer meets Canadian premier Mark Carney in Downing Street

Sir Keir Starmer appears set to refuse DonaldTrump’s demand for Royal Navy warships to secure the Strait of Hormuz.

The key oil and gas route is being blockaded by Iran in response to the US-Israeli campaign against Iran.

The UK could potentially instead send mine-hunting drones to the region rather than a warship.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Mr Trump reiterated his call for allied assistance in the Strait of Hormuz, telling the paper: “It’s only appropriate that people who are the beneficiaries of the strait will help to make sure that nothing bad happens there.”

Trump has previously called for the UK, China, France, Japan and South Korea to send ships to secure the route.

An ally of Sir Keir played down the US president’s warning about Nato’s future, saying there was always a lot of rhetoric from the White House.

Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden told Sky News: ‘It’s a very transactional presidency and our job is to navigate this, to always remember that the friendship between the United States and the United Kingdom runs very deep. It’s a good relationship. It’s enduring and I think it will outlast all the personalities involved.’

Oil loading operations have been suspended at the United Arab Emirates port of Fujairah after a drone attack sparked a fire in the emirate’s petroleum industrial zone.

Fujairah, located on the Gulf of Oman just outside the Strait of Hormuz, is typically a critical exit point for about 1 million barrels per day of the UAE’s Murban crude – a volume equivalent to roughly 1% of global demand.

Civil defense teams are currently working to control the blaze, the Fujairah government media office said in a statement, adding that no casualties have been reported.

The suspension marks the second major disruption at the vital bunkering hub in recent days. Operations at Fujairah had resumed on Sunday following a separate drone strike over the weekend.

The attacks come as the ongoing US-Israeli war with Iran strangles shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway between Iran and Oman that normally handles a fifth of the world’s oil supply.

Beijing has said it is in talks with Washington over a visit by US President Donald Trump expected this month.

‘China and the United States are maintaining communication regarding President Trump’s visit to China,’ Lin Jian, a spokesman for China’s foreign ministry, told a press conference, without addressing Trump’s recent pressure on NATO allies and China to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Washington has said Trump will visit China from March 31 to April 2, although Beijing has yet to confirm those dates in line with its usual practice.

It comes as Donald Trump signalled he may delay his visit to China’s capital.

In an interview with the Financial Times Sunday, Trump said he expected China to help unblock the strait before he travels to Beijing for a summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.