FUJAIRAH, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – MARCH 5: Smoke rises after an explosion in the industrial zone, caused by debris after a drone was intercepted by air defense, according to Fujairah Media Office on March 5, 2026, in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Christopher Pike/Getty Images)
Christophe Brochet | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Gulf states reported more infrastructure damage over the weekend as Iran continued to attack its regional allies in retaliation for ongoing strikes by U.S. and Israeli forces.
In the meantime, Iranian media said a new leader had been named, replacing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the opening salvos of the war.
The UAE said it was “facing missile and drone threats from Iran”.
“The UAE’s air defense is currently responding to missile and drone threats from Iran,” the country’s Defense Ministry said in a statement. job on X.
It said its defenses intercepted ballistic missiles while fighter jets went after drones and “stray munitions.”
On Saturday evening, alarms sounded in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, warning residents to “immediately seek a safe place” due to missile threats, and the CNBC crew confirmed hearing a loud explosion.
A high-rise building in Dubai Marina area, 23 Marina, was hit by falling debris. According to At the Dubai media office, no one was injured, but authorities confirmed that “debris from an aerial interception fell on a vehicle in the Al Barsha area, resulting in the death of a Pakistani driver.”
Also on Saturday, passengers waiting for their flights at Dubai International Airport were taken into train tunnels. Iran said it had struck an air base in the United Arab Emirates.
Since the start of the war on February 28, Iran has targeted several radar and air defense systems in the Middle East – in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia – in retaliation for US and Israeli attacks. The Wall Street Journal reportedciting U.S. officials, military analysts and commercially available satellite imagery.
Desalination plants attackedBahrain announced on Sunday that a drone attack had hit a water desalination plant.
“The Iranian aggression indiscriminately attacked civilian targets and caused material damage to a water desalination plant following a drone attack,” Bahrain’s Interior Ministry said in a statement. job on X.
In a statement to CNBC, Bahrain’s Electricity and Water Authority said “the Iranian attack on a water desalination facility had no impact on water supplies or water network capacity.”
The country said “blatant Iranian aggression” damaged a university building in the Muharraq area, injuring three people, when missile fragments fell.
Meanwhile, Iran has accused the United States of attacking a desalination plant in its country. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a social media post that the United States “committed a blatant and desperate crime by attacking a freshwater desalination plant on Qeshm Island.” The water supply of 30 villages has been affected.”
“Attacking Iranian infrastructure is a dangerous move that carries serious consequences,” Araghchi said.
U.S. Navy Capt. Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for Central Command, told MS NOW that Araghchi’s claim was false.
“The Iranian regime is doing everything it can to peddle lies and deceive,” Hawkins said. “This is the same terrorist regime that has attacked 12 different countries and continues to deliberately target airports, hotels and civilian neighborhoods in those countries. U.S. forces do not target civilians, period.”
Targeted fuel depotsElsewhere, Kuwait said two fuel depots in its international airport were hit by drones, causing a “huge fire on one of them”. The country’s Public Social Security Institution said its headquarters had been targeted, resulting in “material damage” to the building.
Meanwhile, Israeli and US attacks on Iran continued throughout the weekend.
Israel said it struck several fuel storage complexes belonging to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps. “This strike significantly worsens the damage caused to the military infrastructure of the Iranian terrorist regime,” the Israeli military said in a statement. job on X.
The Israeli army also declared this attack “key commanders of the IRGC Quds Force Lebanon Corps who operated in Beirut.”
Oil production is fallingThe fighting in the Gulf has severely disrupted the oil market due to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which carries around 20% of global oil production. The bottleneck has prevented Gulf countries from exporting their oil.
Oil production in Iraq has fallen 70% since the start of the war, according to Reuters. The country currently produces around 1.3 million barrels per day, compared to around 4.3 million before the war. Kuwait, another oil-rich Gulf state, also reduced its oil production.
American crude oil climbed to more than $91 per barrel, and the global benchmark Brent crude soared to more than $92 a barrel. As a result, the price of gasoline in the United States has risen to more than $3.46 per gallon on average, according to Gas Buddy.
Appointment of a new Iranian leaderIran’s Mehr news agency quoted Ayatollah Seyyed Ahmad Alam al-Huda as saying that elections were held on Sunday to replace Khamenei and a new leader had been named. He did not give a name.
“All the rumors and news that try to claim that the Assembly of Experts has not yet made a decision are pure lies,” al-Huda was quoted as saying.
Iranian state media reported Saturday that two influential Iranian clerics had called for the rapid selection of a new supreme leader.
One of the clerics, Naser Makarem Shirazi, a grand ayatollah who enjoys a wide following for his religious rulings, said an appointment was needed quickly to “help better organize the country’s affairs,” state media reported.
These calls suggest that at least some members of the religious establishment are uncomfortable with the idea of leaving a three-man council in charge – even temporarily – under constitutional rules – after the assassination of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Trump has argued that the United States should play a role in choosing the new leader, a demand that Iran has rejected. On Sunday, Trump threatened that the appointment of a new leader in Tehran would be short-lived without his approval.
“He’s going to have to get our approval,” Trump said. ABC News. “If it doesn’t get our approval, it won’t last long. We want to make sure we don’t have to go back every 10 years, when you don’t have a president like me, that won’t be enough.”
Trump told ABC he would not rule out someone from the old regime taking power over the country, saying: “There are a lot of people who could be eligible.”
The Israeli military said on Sunday it would “pursue any successor and anyone seeking to appoint a successor.”
“We are warning everyone who plans to participate in the successor selection meeting that we will not hesitate to target you either. This is a warning!” the IDF declared in a job in Farsi on