A fire broke out in the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) early Tuesday (March 17, 2026) following a Iranian drone attack, the emirate’s media office said citing authorities, adding that no injuries had been reported. The UAE said air traffic was normal after its airspace was earlier closed as an “extraordinary precautionary measure” amid fresh wave of incoming missile and drone threats from Iran.
Also read | Neighbourhood diplomacy and its West Asia challenge
A wave of drone and rocket attacks targeted the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad on Tuesday (March 17, 2026), Iraqi security sources said, describing it as the most intense assault since the attacks began, with at least five drones used.
Also read | Iran and U.S. have been in direct contact in recent days: report
With the war in its third week, Israel said on Monday (March 16, 2026) it had drawn up detailed plans for at least three more weeks of war as it pounded sites across Iran overnight and stepped up bombardments of Hezbollah in Lebanon. Iran also vowed at the United Nations that it would not submit to “lawless aggression”, and said its citizens were in “grave danger” from U.S. and Israeli strikes.
Fears of a global energy crisis continued, even as a small number of ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway through which a fifth of the world’s oil normally travels.
