Within hours of the joint strike by the United States and Israel, Iran hit back with a retaliatory attack. It launched missiles at Israel, and explosions, reportedly said to be Iranian attacks, were seen across the region, including in Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The oil-and-gas-rich Arab nations across the Gulf sea from Iran are long-term American allies and host several US military facilities. And
Iran seemed prepared to go after them.
We take a look at the places Iran targeted, putting West Asia on edge.
Bahrain
Bahrain said a missile attack targeted the US Navy’s 5th Fleet headquarters in the island kingdom. The country’s National Communication Centre says the service centre of the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet has been “subjected to a missile attack”. It is responsible for operations across the Gulf, Red Sea, Arabian Sea, and parts of the Indian Ocean, reports the BBC.
Other verified footage from the nation shows dark plumes of smoke rising as sirens sound across the capital, Manama.
The US embassy in Bahrain said it will close on Sunday (March 1) after Iranian missiles targeted Manama. “In light of ongoing missile strikes against Bahrain on February 28, the US Embassy in Bahrain will be closed on Sunday, March 1, 2026,” the embassy said in a statement on X.
“We have cancelled all regular and emergency consular appointments for Sunday, March 1, 2026. We will communicate when the embassy returns to normal operations,” it added.
Bahrain hosts an installation known as Naval Support Activity Bahrain, where the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet and US Naval Forces Central Command headquarters are based. Its deep-water port can accommodate the largest US military vessels, such as aircraft carriers, and the US Navy has used the base in the country since 1948, when the facility was operated by Britain’s Royal Navy. Several US ships have their home port in Bahrain, including anti-mine vessels and logistical support ships, reports AFP.
Qatar
Explosions could also be heard in Qatar, where Al Udeid Air Base hosts thousands of service members. This is the largest US military base in the region, which was targeted last June as well, following US strikes targeting Iranian nuclear facilities.
The Gulf emirate said an Iranian missile attack targeted its territory. Qatar was forced to close its airspace amid the rising tensions.
Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Saturday urged a halt to escalation and return to dialogue after Iranian missiles targeted countries across the Gulf. On a call, “both sides emphasised the necessity of an immediate halt to any escalatory actions and a return to the dialogue table to preserve regional security and prevent a slide toward broader confrontations,” the Qatari ruler’s office said in a statement.
Kuwait
Kuwait’s Ali al-Salem Air Base hosts the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing, which the military describes as the “primary airlift hub and gateway for delivering combat power to joint and coalition forces” in the region. Additionally, the US has deployed drones, including MQ-9 Reapers, to the country.
Kuwait’s defence ministry said its forces intercepted missiles targeting the air base on Saturday, while Italy’s foreign minister said an Iranian attack caused “significant damage” to the runway of the facility, which also hosts Italian air force personnel.
Col Saud Abdulaziz Al-Atwan, the spokesperson for Kuwait’s Ministry of Defence, posted on X that the Ali Al-Salem airbase (where the US Air Force has a presence) had been targeted by several ballistic missiles, which the Kuwaiti air defence forces had successfully intercepted. He says this resulted in debris and shrapnel falling in the vicinity of the base.
Images from a motorway in Kuwait show a burned truck.
Kuwait has strongly denounced what it described as a “heinous” Iranian attack on its territory, calling it a flagrant breach of sovereignty and international law, and warning that it reserves the right to respond proportionately.
In a statement issued on Saturday, Kuwait’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the strike constituted a violation of its airspace and of the UN Charter. The ministry affirmed Kuwait’s “full and inherent right” to self-defence under Article 51 of the Charter, stating that any response would be commensurate with the scale and nature of the attack and consistent with international law.
UAE
As Iranian missiles flew towards the UAE, blasts echoed in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
One civilian died in Abu Dhabi, capital of the UAE, after being struck by falling debris, according to the Ministry of Defence.
Abu Dhabi also hosts US forces at the Al Dhafra base, which was the reason Iran sent missiles flying into the city.
Meanwhile, witnesses in nearby Dubai heard an explosion and saw missiles streak across the sky. “It was a big explosion, and it made the windows shake,” one witness told AFP, requesting anonymity, echoing a similar account from another Dubai resident.
🚨🇦🇪🇮🇷 Dubai just took a direct hit. Filmed from the ground.
The city that was supposed to be untouchable. The financial hub. The neutral ground. The place where everyone does business regardless of politics.
The global economy just felt this war hitting home. https://t.co/A58pwAxpDj pic.twitter.com/LaVfIUDLiZ
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) February 28, 2026
The UAE said it reserved the right to respond to the Iranian attacks, slamming them as a “dangerous escalation”. Several missiles were intercepted, it said.
“The United Arab Emirates was subjected today to a blatant attack by Iranian ballistic missiles,” the UAE defence ministry said. “The UAE’s air defences responded with high efficiency and successfully intercepted a number of missiles.”
Saudi Arabia
Explosions were heard in the Saudi capital of Riyadh. However, it is unclear if the blasts were because of the impact of the Iranian attack or the Saudi Patriot missiles intercepting the projectiles.
Saudi Arabia says it was targeted in an Iranian missile strike earlier today, confirming attacks on Riyadh and the eastern region were successfully repelled.
The foreign ministry calls the strike “unjustified,” noting Iran was aware the kingdom would not allow its airspace or… pic.twitter.com/iMPB0TxQx4
— Mossad Commentary (@MOSSADil) February 28, 2026
AFP journalists and residents heard several explosions in Riyadh. “I heard the explosions, I don’t know what I felt,” one Lebanese resident of Riyadh told AFP. “We came to the Gulf because it’s known to be safer than Lebanon. Now I don’t know what to do or how to think really.”
Saudi Arabia also condemned “brutal Iranian aggression”, official media said.
Jordan
The US reportedly deployed dozens of military aircraft to Jordan’s Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in the run-up to the strikes on Iran. A Jordanian military official said the kingdom’s forces shot down two ballistic missiles targeting its territory on Saturday, without saying who launched them.
The Jordanian Public Security Directorate later said there were “no casualties but only material damage”.
Footage shows a fire from debris of an intercepted Iranian missile hitting a home in Jordan. A military official says Jordan’s armed forces shot down two Iranian ballistic missiles targeting the kingdom. pic.twitter.com/59o7Ahf2Vh
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) February 28, 2026
Iraq
The US has troops in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region as part of the international coalition against the Islamic State group, but their mission is due to end by September under a deal between Washington and Baghdad.
American forces have already completed their withdrawal from facilities in federal Iraq –whose government is a close ally of Iran, but also a strategic partner of Washington – under the same agreement.
AFP journalists reported explosions near the US consulate in Arbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, on Saturday, while Iraq’s powerful pro-Iran Kataeb Hezbollah group threatened attacks on American bases.
Kurdish security forces later said the US-led coalition had intercepted multiple drones and missiles over Arbil.
With inputs from agencies
End of Article
