Air defenses in the United Arab Emirates intercepted 119 drones and 15 ballistic missiles fired by Iran on Saturday, the Ministry of Defense said in a post on X.
Two drones made it through air defenses and
fell within UAE territory, and one ballistic missile fell into sea, the post said.
“The Ministry of Defense affirms that it is on high alert and readiness to deal with any threats and to firmly confront everything that targets undermining the state’s security, in a manner that ensures the preservation of its sovereignty, security, stability, and protects its interests and national capabilities.”
-ABC News’ Othon Leyva
Dubai, Emirates say airline ‘will resume operations’ after temporary suspension
Dubai and its long-haul carrier Emirates said Saturday that the airline would resume operations after briefly suspending them.
The Dubai Media Office posted the following on social media just after 11:30 a.m. local time: “For the safety of passengers, airport staff, and airline crew, operations at Dubai International (DXB) have been temporarily suspended. All procedures are being managed in line with established safety protocols.”
Emirates then posted this on social media at 11:40 a.m. local time: “Emirates will resume operations. Passengers who have confirmed bookings for this afternoon’s flights may proceed to the airport. This includes customers transiting in Dubai, if their connecting flight is also operating.” The airline added that it “continues to monitor the situation, and we will develop our operational schedule accordingly.”
The Dubai Media Office posted the following on social media at 12:18 p.m. local time: “Emirates Airlines resumes its operations this Saturday afternoon.”
Neither gave a reason for the temporary suspension.
-ABC News’ Morgan Winsor
Iraq extends airspace closure for another 72 hours
Iraq’s Civil Aviation Authority on Saturday extended the closure of the country’s airspace to all arriving, departing and transiting flights for an additional 72 hours “as a temporary precautionary measure,” remaining in effect until Tuesday noon local time.
“This decision comes based on the continuous assessment of the security situation and developments in the regional conditions, and it will be re-evaluated in accordance with any new developments,” Iraq’s Civil Aviation Authority said.
-ABC News’ Morgan Winsor
Iran’s president says there’ll be no unconditional surrender
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in televised remarks in Farsi on Saturday morning that the United States and Israel “will take their dreams of us surrendering unconditionally to the grave,” according to Iranian state media — apparently referring to President Donald Trump’s social media post the previous day that there “will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER.”
Pezeshkian also apologized to Iran’s neighbors, saying: “We have no intention of invading other countries” and that “there will be no more attacks on neighboring countries and no missile launches, unless attacks originate from those countries against Iran,” according to Iranian state-owned Press TV.
-ABC News’ Morgan Winsor
27,000 Americans have returned to US from Middle East
The State Department says it’s aware of 27,000 Americans who have safely returned to the U.S. from the Middle East since Saturday.
The State Department said it is working to proactively call Americans to offer charter flights or ground transportation.
3 UN peacekeepers injured at base in Lebanon amid ‘heavy firing’: UNIFIL
Three United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon peacekeepers were injured inside their base in southwestern Lebanon amid heavy firing on Friday, the peacekeeping mission said.
Two of the wounded were treated at an internal medical facility and the third, who was the most severely injured, had to be transferred to a hospital in Beirut for treatment, according to UNIFIL. A fire at the base had to be extinguished, it said.
UNIFIL said it “will investigate the circumstances of this
terrible event,” noting it’s “unacceptable that peacekeepers performing Security Council-mandated tasks are targeted.”
US was operating in area of elementary school ahead of deadly strike: Sources
The U.S. military was striking targets in Iran on Saturday in an area where an elementary school was hit and dozens of children were killed, according to two people familiar with the initial findings.
Sources say that while the U.S. investigation into the incident remains ongoing, officials believe it is possible American forces are responsible for the attack, because they were conducting strikes in the vicinity of the school and the Israelis were not.
Reuters reported Thursday that military investigators believed it was “likely” that U.S. forces were responsible.
Iran’s Education Ministry says 168 people were killed in the attack, which destroyed a girls’ elementary school in Minab.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Friday referred questions about the strike to the Pentagon. Both Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and U.S. Central Command have declined to provide specifics on the probe, saying the investigation is ongoing.
An analysis of satellite imagery by ABC News suggests the school was near an Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps compound, but had been separated more than decade ago. A comparison of Google Earth images from 2013 and 2016 shows a wall has been built sometime in those three years, effectively separating the school that had been part of a cluster of IRGC buildings.
US believes Russia is providing Iran intelligence, including locations of troops: Sources
The U.S. believes that Russia has been providing Iran the locations of American troops in the region, including aircraft and ships, according to two people familiar with the intelligence. An intelligence official confirmed the U.S. belief that Russia is providing intelligence to Iran.
The assistance, first reported by The Washington Post, is alarming because it would enable the Iranians to target specific locations with ballistic missiles and drones, putting U.S. service members at risk.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt did not deny the report on Friday, instead saying it didn’t matter because the U.S. was still winning the war.
“It clearly is not making a difference with respect to the military operations in Iran, because we are completely decimating them,” Leavitt told reporters.
Six U.S. service members were killed last weekend during an Iranian drone attack on a base in Kuwait. At least 10 other troops have been severely wounded in operations across the region.
The CIA declined to comment and the Defense Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Russia has not addressed the allegations, but Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has said previously that Iran hasn’t asked for help.
Source: https://abc7.com
