Missiles rain down across Gulf as Iran hits back at US, Israel strikes

Updated 12.50pm

The entire Middle East and Gulf region threatened to be plunged into a full-scale war on Saturday, as Iran retaliated to US and Israeli strikes by firing missiles at multiple countries in the region.

Explosions were reported in Israel, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

Multiple airlines cancelled all flights to countries in the region.

Malta's Foreign Affairs Ministry advised Maltese nationals in affected regions to contact their nearest Malta embassy or the ministry directly on +3562204 0000 if they needed help. 

Up-to-date consular advice for each indivdual country is available online.

Malta’s Embassy in Qatar advised citizens to seek shelter, following official directives issued by the Qatari government. 

“Go underground (basements, subway tunnels) whenever possible. Stay near interior walls without windows, but do not lean against them. If outdoors, enter the nearest building. If no underground shelter is available, go to the lowest floor. Stay away from windows and, if possible, try to reinforce them,” the embassy advised.

Several explosions were heard across Qatar’s capital Doha and the country’s defence ministry said it had intercepted several missile attacks.

Blasts were heard over central Doha and near the Al-Udeid military base, the largest US military facility in the region.

US President Donald Trump on Saturday announced a massive military operation against Iran, vowing to never allow the country to have a nuclear weapon and encouraging Iranians to overthrow their government. 

Iran said it would retaliate forcefully. 

"The Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will respond decisively to the aggressors," a foreign ministry said in a statement, insisting Iran had done "everything necessary to prevent war".

"Just as we were ready for negotiations, we are now more prepared than ever to defend the Iranian nation," it said.

An Iranian official said all US bases in the region “are within Iran’s reach”.

Israel's 'Iron Dome' missile defence system was deployed to intercept incoming missiles. Sirens sounded across the country's cities and people in Jerusalem were seen taking shelter. 

Bahrain decried the Iranian missiles as a “flagrant breach” of its sovereignty and threatened to retaliate. Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, and neighbouring Dubai both intercepted missiles.

Abu Dhabi, which is home to a base housing US personnel, said it was temporarily shutting down its airspace.

Kuwait's Chief of Staff said in a statement that it had engaged its air defence systems after detecting incoming missiles. 

Oman, which was mediating talks between the US and Iran until Friday, was an outlier in not reporting any attacks on Saturday morning.

Sirens were heard ringing across Jordan's capital, Amman.  

US military assets in the region

The US has a massive military presence in the Middle East, including warships, fighter jets, and refuelling aircraft. Iran is believed to have targeted locations where those are located.

Ships

Washington currently has more than a dozen warships in the Middle East, including one aircraft carrier - the USS Abraham Lincoln, which is operating in the Arabian Sea - nine destroyers and three littoral combat ships.

The USS Gerald R. Ford - the world's largest carrier - is deployed in the Mediterranean Sea along with several more destroyers. The carrier took on food, fuel and ammunition at Souda Bay on the island of Crete earlier this week, then left port on Thursday. Satellite imagery showed it several hundred miles west of the Israeli port of Haifa the following day.

Both carriers are crewed by thousands of sailors and have air wings comprised of dozens of warplanes. It is rare to have two of the massive warships in the Middle East at the same time.

Aircraft

In addition to the aircraft on the carriers, the United States has sent dozens of other warplanes to the Middle East, according to open-source intelligence accounts on X, flight-tracking website Flightradar24 and media reports.

These include F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning stealth fighter jets, F-15 and F-16 warplanes, and the KC-135 aerial refuelling aircraft that are needed to sustain their operations.

Air defences

The United States has also reportedly boosted its land-based air defences in the Middle East, while the numerous guided-missile destroyers in the region provide air defence capabilities at sea.

US forces on bases

While ground forces are not expected to take part in offensive action against Iran, the United States has tens of thousands of military personnel on bases in the Middle East that are potentially vulnerable to a counterattack.

Tehran launched missiles at a US base in Qatar after Washington struck three Iranian nuclear sites in June 2025, but they were shot down by air defences.