March 8, 2026: 23 Marina constructing broken by drone Debris in Dubai’s Marina
Emma Graham, CNBC
Gulf states reported extra harm to infrastructure over the weekend as Iran continues to assault regional allies in retaliation for ongoing strikes by U.S. and Israeli forces.
Meanwhile, Iranian media stated a brand new chief has been appointed, changing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who was killed within the opening salvos of the struggle.
The United Arab Emirates stated it was “dealing with incoming missile and drone threats from Iran”.
“UAE air defences are currently responding to incoming missile and drone threats from Iran,” the nation’s Ministry of Defense stated in a post on X.
It stated its defenses have been intercepting ballistic missiles whereas fighter jets have been tackling drones and “loitering munitions”.
On Saturday night, alarms rang out throughout Dubai and Abu Dhabi warning residents to “immediately seek a safe place” resulting from missile threats and CNBC’s group confirmed listening to a loud explosion.
A high-rise constructing in Dubai’s Marina space, 23 Marina, was hit by falling particles. According to Dubai’s Media Office, nobody was injured, however authorities did confirm that “debris from an aerial interception fell onto a vehicle in the Al Barsha area, resulting in the death of a Pakistani driver.”
Also on Saturday, passengers ready for flights at Dubai International Airport have been ushered into practice tunnels. Iran stated it had struck an air base within the UAE.
Since the struggle began on Feb. 28, Iran has focused a number of radar and air defenses within the Middle East — in Qatar, the U.A.E., Jordan, Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia — in retaliation towards U.S. and Israeli assaults, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing U.S. officers, army analysts and commercially out there satellite tv for pc photographs.
Bahrain stated Sunday a drone assault struck a water desalination plant.
“Iranian aggression indiscriminately attacked civilian targets and caused material damage to a water desalination plant following a drone attack,” Bahrain’s Ministry of Interior said in a submit on X.
In an announcement to CNBC, Bahrain’s electrical energy and water authority, stated the “Iranian attack on a water desalination facility has had no impact on water supplies or water network capacity”.
The nation additionally stated “blatant Iranian aggression” broken a college constructing within the Muharraq space, injuring three individuals, as missile fragments fell.
Elsewhere, Kuwait stated two gas depots at its international airport have been hit by drones, inflicting a “huge fire at one of them.”
The nation’s Public Institution for Social Security stated its headquarters have been focused, leading to “material damage” to the constructing.
Meanwhile, Israeli and U.S. assaults on Iran have continued by means of the weekend.
Israel stated it struck a number of gas storage complexes belonging to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.
“The strike significantly deepens the damage to the military infrastructure of the Iranian terrorist regime,” the Israel Defense Forces stated in a post on X early Sunday.
The IDF additionally stated it attacked “key commanders in the IRGC’s Quds Force’s Lebanon Corps who operated in Beirut.”
Search for a brand new Iranian chief
Iran’s Mehr information company quoted Ayatollah Seyyed Ahmad Alam al-Huda as saying Sunday elections have been held to interchange Khamenei and {that a} new chief has been appointed. It didn’t give his title.
“All the rumors and news that tried to pretend that the Assembly of Experts has not yet made a decision are pure lies,” al-Huda was quoted as saying.
Iranian state media reported on Saturday that two influential Iranian clerics have known as for the swift number of a brand new supreme chief
One of the clerics, Naser Makarem Shirazi, a grand ayatollah who instructions a broad following for his non secular rulings, stated an appointment was wanted swiftly to “help better organize the country’s affairs,” state media reported.
The calls recommend that at the very least some within the clerical institution are uncomfortable with leaving a three-man council in cost — even quickly underneath constitutional guidelines — after the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The IDF stated Sunday it will “pursue every successor and every person who seeks to appoint a successor.”
“We warn all those who intend to participate in the successor selection meeting that we will not hesitate to target you either. This is a warning!,” the IDF stated in a post in Farsi on X.
Trump has argued the U.S. ought to have a job in selecting the brand new chief, a requirement Iran has rejected.
