Rockets and at least five drones targeted the US embassy in Baghdad early on Tuesday, Iraqi security sources said, describing it as the most intense assault since the war began.
It came as residents of Dubai and Doha, Qatar, awoke to the sound of explosions as air defences worked to intercept new waves of incoming Iranian fire, as the conflict in the Middle East showed no signs of abating.
Two US officials said no injuries were reported so far in Baghdad.
An eyewitness told Reuters the C-RAM air defence system shot down two of the drones, while a third struck inside the embassy compound, from which fire and smoke could be seen rising.
An explosion was heard in the Iraqi capital, another witness said.
Iranian backed militias have been attacking American interests in Iraq in retaliation for the US-Israeli attacks on Tehran which began on February 28.
On Monday, Iran-aligned group Kataib Hezbollah announced the death of its senior commander and spokesperson – Abu Ali Al-Askari – and Popular Mobilisation Forces said air strikes killed at least eight of its fighters in the Iraqi town of al-Qaim near Syria.
Iraqi security forces have been deployed across parts of the capital and closed Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone, which houses government buildings and diplomatic missions including the US embassy.
An eyewitness told Reuters the C-RAM air defence system shot down two of the drones
Rockets and at least five drones targeted the US embassy in Baghdad early on Tuesday, Iraqi security sources said
A C-RAM air defence system intercepts drones during reported drone and rocket attacks on the US embassy in Baghdad, Iraq
Interceptions lit up the night sky over Baghdad last night after an earlier drone attack on a luxury hotel on Monday.
An orange glow and explosion were seen after a drone was shot down by a US defence system, in footage aired by the Rudaw network.
It happened hours after another drone struck a prominent hotel in the city’s heavily fortified Green Zone.
Two Iraqi security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the strike hit the top floor of the Royal Tulip Al-Rasheed hotel, which houses diplomatic delegations and international organisations.
The attack caused damage but no casualties, and security forces sealed off the area.
No group immediately claimed responsibility.
Qatar said Tuesday it had intercepted a missile attack as Tehran continues to enact its retaliatory campaign over strikes by the US and Israel that killed its supreme leader.
An AFP journalist heard several explosions in Doha, a day after blasts resounded across the Qatari capital.
Qatar, like several Gulf nations, has been targeted by drones and missiles in the last days.
‘The Ministry of Defense of State of Qatar announces that armed forces intercepted missile attack which targeted State of Qatar,’ the defence ministry posted on X.
In nearby Dubai, an AFP journalist heard three explosions after a mobile phone alert warned residents of the UAE’s most populous city to ‘immediately seek a safe place’ over ‘potential missile threats’.
The major transit hub for international travel briefly shut its airspace as the military said it was ‘responding to incoming missile and drone threats’ around the city.
The Israeli military said early on Tuesday it had begun a ‘wide-scale wave of strikes’ across Iran’s capital and was also stepping up strikes on Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.
Israel also reported two incoming salvos before dawn from Iran at Tel Aviv and elsewhere, and said Hezbollah targeted Israel’s north.
Iran kept up the pressure on the energy infrastructure of its Gulf Arab neighbours, hitting an oil facility in Fujairah, located on the east coast of the UAE, with the Gulf of Oman that has been repeatedly targeted.
State-run WAM news reported that no one had been injured in the blast from the drone strike.
Iran’s attacks on Gulf nations and its stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil is transported, have given rise to increasing concerns of a global energy crisis.
With Washington under increasing pressure over rising oil prices, Brent crude, the international standard, remained over 100 dollars (£75) a barrel, up more than 40 per cent since the war started.
US President Donald Trump said he had demanded that roughly a half-dozen countries send warships to keep the Strait of Hormuz open.
But his appeals brought no immediate commitments, with many saying they are hesitant to get involved in a war with no defined exit plan and sceptical that they could do more than the US Navy.
The UAE shut down its airspace early on Tuesday as its military reported it was ‘responding to missile and drone threats from Iran’.
The closure was soon lifted, and not long after, the sounds of explosions could be heard as the military worked to intercept incoming fire.
The snap announcement on its airspace showed the balancing act Emirati authorities face in trying to keep their long-haul carriers, Emirates and Etihad, flying as Iranian attacks continue to target the country.
Saudi Arabia’s Defence Ministry reported intercepting a dozen drones on Tuesday morning over the country’s vast Eastern Province, home to oil infrastructure.
This is a breaking story. More to follow