Plumes of smoke billowed as residents of Tehran woke up to blackened skies on Sunday as oil depots in Iran’s capital caught fire after being hit by intense aerial bombardment overnight, with residents reporting several explosions.
Several videos on social media platforms captured the terrifying scenes – with bright orange-yellow flames lighting up the dark sky.
The development comes amid the ongoing Israeli-Iranian-US conflict, which entered its second week on Saturday, March 7 – which has also put Gulf countries on edge.
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Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Kuwait reported new attacks on Sunday after loud explosions were heard in Dubai and Bahrain’s Manama on Saturday, an AFP report said.
Conflict between Israel, USA and Iran
Iran launched a wave of retaliatory strikes after the US and Israel jointly attacked the Islamic Republic on Saturday, February 28. Former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and other key figures were reportedly killed in the airstrikes.
The explosions were reported in Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Kuwait – among other West Asian hubs – which are also home to US military bases.
Earlier, Amir Saeid Iravani, Iran’s ambassador to the UN, wrote a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the President of the Security Council, warning that US bases, facilities and assets would be “legitimate targets” of Iran if the United States continued its military threats and attacks.
Why did Iran target US bases in the Middle East?
Following the retaliatory rocket fire last Saturday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the attacks were aimed at sites linked to US and Israeli operations.
“Iranian armed forces consider the locations from which American and Zionist operations were carried out as legitimate targets,” FM Abbas Araghchi said on Iranian television.
The strikes and explosions continued for a ninth day on Sunday.
The conflict has so far killed at least 1,230 people in Iran, more than 300 in Lebanon and about a dozen in Israel, the AP said, citing officials.
FILE – A black plume of smoke rises from a warehouse in the industrial area of Sharjah City following reports of Iranian strikes in Dubai, United Arab Emirates March 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri, File)(AP)
Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) issued a stern warning on Sunday that it would “continue to pursue any successor and anyone who seeks to appoint a successor” to Iran’s next supreme leader, local media reported.
IDF Explosive Warning
“We want to tell you that the hand of the State of Israel will continue to persecute every successor and every person who tries to name a successor,” The Jerusalem Post quoted the Israeli army as saying on social media, written in Farsi, on Sunday morning.
