EXPLAINER
A day after the assassination of the Iranian supreme leader was confirmed, attacks were reported in Dubai, Cyprus and across the region.
Published March 2, 2026
A day after the assassination of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in strikes by the United States and Israel, Iran continues to attack American assets throughout the Gulf region.
The United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Saturday as talks continued between Washington and Tehran over Iran’s nuclear program. Iran responded the same day with missile and drone strikes across the region, including targets in Israel and US military assets in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Iraq.
As tensions continue to rise on the third day of the conflict, here’s what things look like on Monday.
Here’s everything that’s happened so far up to day 3.
In Iran
- Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency reported that more than 20 people were killed in an attack in Niloofar Square in Tehran.
- US President Donald Trump said in an interview with Fox News on Sunday that the joint US-Israeli operation had killed 48 Iranian leaders.
- At least two people were killed in an “enemy attack” in the central city of Sanandaj, according to the Iranian Fars news agency.
- Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong told local media on Monday that Canberra does not plan to join the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran.
In the Gulf nations
- On Monday morning, explosions were heard in the capital of the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi, as well as in the capital of Qatar, Doha.
- While Qatar initially used the Patriot defense system to intercept incoming missiles and drones in its airspace, the Defense Ministry said it is now deploying fighter jets to shoot them down over Gulf waters.
- The Kuwaiti military issued a statement on Monday saying its air defenses had “engaged and intercepted” a “number of hostile air targets at dawn today” over central parts of the country.
- The Reuters news agency, citing an anonymous witness, reported a column of smoke near the US embassy in Kuwait.
- Some debris fell at the Mina al-Ahmadi refinery near Kuwait City, causing “minor injuries to two workers,” according to Kuwait’s official news agency.
- Videos verified by Al Jazeera show thick smoke rising in the city of Al-Jahra in Kuwait, 32 kilometers (19 miles) west of Kuwait City, after a plane was seen crashing.
- On Sunday afternoon, Bahrain’s Interior Ministry reported that Iran had attacked a maritime facility near the port of Mina Salman in the capital, Manama.
- On Monday, Bahrain’s Interior Ministry issued a statement in X saying that falling debris from an intercepted missile had caused a fire on a “foreign ship” in the Salman industrial zone.
- Bahrain’s Interior Ministry also said it had activated airstrike alerts and urged residents to head to the nearest safe place.
- Qatar Airways, Qatar’s flag carrier, said its flights remain suspended due to the ongoing closure of the country’s airspace.
In Israel
- The Israeli military said Iran launched more missiles at Israel and that air defenses were operating to intercept them.
in the united states
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will appear at a news conference at 8 a.m. (1:00 p.m. GMT), marking the first time a senior Trump official will face the media since the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran on Saturday.
- On Sunday, the US military announced that three service members had died during its operation against Iran, the first US casualties.
- In a video posted on his Truth Social platform, Trump vowed to avenge the three American soldiers killed in Iranian attacks and warned there could be more victims.
- Trump warned that combat operations against Iran would continue until “all objectives are achieved.”
In Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan
- According to Lebanon’s National News Agency, there were Israeli airstrikes in the southern suburbs of Beirut and the south of the country. Twenty people were killed and 91 injured in the capital’s suburbs, while 11 people were killed and 58 injured in the south of the country.
- Al Jazeera Arabic reported Israeli attacks on Beirut’s southern suburbs after Hezbollah launched attacks on northern Israel.
- Debris from an Iranian missile that fell on the city of Ain Terma, near Damascus, in Syria, injured a man and his three daughters, according to the country’s state news agency SANA.
- Al Jazeera Arabic reported sirens blaring in the coastal city of Aqaba in Jordan.
- Heavy smoke was seen in Jordan following unconfirmed reports of a US F-15 crash.
In Cyprus
- On Sunday, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he had agreed to a US request to allow UK military bases to be used for “defensive” strikes against Iran to stop retaliatory missile attacks. The United Kingdom has two sovereign base areas (SBAs) in Cyprus, namely Akrotiri and Dhekelia. These are territories legally owned by the United Kingdom within Cyprus.
- On Monday, shortly after midnight, a Shahed drone hit the UK Royal Air Force base in Akrotiri, the UK and Cyprus said, reporting “limited damage”.
