The Middle East war between Iran, the United States and Israel entered a new and more dangerous phase, with fresh airstrikes hitting Tehran, Beirut and key Gulf targets that host US forces. As the Iran war intensifies, US President Donald Trump has publicly ruled out negotiations and is insisting on Iran’s “unconditional surrender,” raising fears that the US‑Iran conflict and Israel‑Iran war could drag on and widen across the region.
In recent days, Israeli warplanes have pounded sites in Tehran and Beirut, while Iranian forces have launched missile and drone attacks on Israel and neighbouring Arab countries where US military bases are located. The US‑Israel campaign aims to degrade Iran’s missile, drone and air defence capabilities, even as Tehran vows to keep fighting and shows no sign of backing down.
US officials say American forces are carrying out “surgical” strikes on Iran’s Revolutionary Guard infrastructure, command‑and‑control nodes and underground missile bases, underscoring how deeply Washington is now involved in the Iran‑US conflict. At the same time, the State Department has urged American citizens to leave much of the wider Middle East, highlighting concerns that the Iran war and Israel‑Iran clashes could trigger more attacks on US targets across the region.
As the sixth day of the Middle East conflict unfolds, analysts warn that continued US airstrikes, Israeli operations and Iranian retaliation could destabilise key oil‑producing states and disrupt global energy markets. With Trump signalling that combat operations will continue until all US objectives in Iran are achieved, policymakers and regional allies are watching closely to see whether this Iran war escalates further or moves toward a ceasefire.
Meanwhile, Russia is reportedly sharing intelligence with Iran that could enable Tehran to target American warships, aircraft and other military assets across the region, according to two officials briefed on U.S. assessments, marking the first clear sign that Moscow is directly involving itself in the conflict.
The regional death toll is still rising, with officials reporting at least 1,230 people killed in Iran, more than 200 in Lebanon and roughly a dozen in Israel, while six U.S. service members have also lost their lives.
In the United Arab Emirates, authorities in the city-state reported that air defenses intercepted an incoming threat over their territory. Residents described hearing multiple explosions in the morning on Saturday, and the government’s Dubai Media Office later said a “minor incident” occurred when debris fell after the interception, adding that it had been successfully contained.
Air traffic to Dubai International Airport, one of the world’s busiest hubs for international passengers and now working to restore operations, was temporarily affected as inbound flights were forced to circle at a distance just ahead of the interception.
More drone attacks hit Saudi Arabia early Saturday, the Defense Ministry said. The ministry reported intercepting four drones aimed at the vast Shaybah oil field, deep in the Empty Quarter desert, in what was the second strike in just a few hours. Earlier, it said air defenses had thwarted a separate drone attack targeting an area near the capital, Riyadh.
Writing in Al Jazeera, Sultan al-Khulaifi of the Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies said Gulf Arab states “watched with dread” as the US and Israel moved to war with Iran after having “invested enormous diplomatic capital in preventing precisely this moment.”
He argued that Iran’s decision to fire missiles at its Gulf neighbours amounts to a historic strategic miscalculation and a profound moral and legal failure that could poison regional relations for generations.
Al-Khulaifi also contended that Iran’s apparent strategy — attacking Gulf states in hopes of pressuring Washington to halt the war, is fundamentally flawed and, in practice, advances Israeli interests.
By widening the conflict to include the Gulf, he wrote, Tehran is achieving what Israel could not do alone: shifting the confrontation away from a primarily Israel- Iran conflict and recasting it as a broader clash between Iran and its Arab neighbours.