Name: Iran launches new wave of strikes across Gulf region | BBC News
Uploaded: 2026-03-11T16:39:42.000Z
Duration: 14 min 46 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

Countries around the Gulf are reporting a new round of Iranian missile and drone attacks.

Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain said they were responding to incoming fire and warn residents to seek shelter.

Drones have reportedly fallen near Dubai Airport, injuring four people.

A UK Maritime monitor said a cargo ship was struck in the Strait of Hormuz, starting a fire and forcing the crew to evacuate.

The it comes after President Trump warned Iran over mining the Strait.

The US military says it's destroyed 16 Iranian mine laying vessels near the Strait of Hormuz.

The narrow waterway is the world's busiest shipping lane for the transportation of oil.

Maritime movement is effectively at a standstill and the impact is being felt right across the globe.

In Lebanon, state media says Israel has hit an apartment block in central Beirut, the second time the center of the capital has been hit since the start of the war.

And there were heavy strikes across the country overnight.

Iran has also been hit in overnight strikes.

These are the latest pictures coming in to US officials saying more than 1,300 people have been killed by the US and Israeli airstrikes since the war began.

State security forces in Iran have warned they're ready with their fingers on the trigger to confront any anti government protests.

And the conflict is also a war of words after the US Said Tuesday's strikes on Iran were going to be the most intense yet.

Iran said its barrage targeting Israel and what it calls US Interests in the region was the biggest it had yet fired.

The second container ship that's been hit off the coast of the UAE was targeted by an unidentified projectile.

The incident took place around 50 nautical miles northwest of Dubai.

Our correspondent Barbara Plett Usher is in Doha and told us more.

We've had these reports from this UK Maritime monitor that there have been two ships hit by suspected unknown projectiles, as they phrase it in the last little while.

One of them is a cargo ship that was hit in the Strait of Hormuz close to Oman.

That started a fire and the crew was being evacuated.

The other one was much earlier off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, a container ship again hit by a suspected unknown projectile.

And there there was some damage, but there were no injuries or casualties reported from the crew.

This would probably be about the 12th such suspected Iranian attack reported since the war began in the whole Gulf area, I should say.

And it is one of the main reasons why the traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has almost dried up because of the risk of going through, also because insurers aren't going to cover these costs and you know, the there's been discussion from the United States and from Europe about perhaps having a military naval escort, but

that hasn't gotten off the ground yet and probably won't or is unlikely to while the hot conflict continues.

You also had this concern expressed by the Americans that the Iranians might start mining the Strait of Hormuz they have before in the 1980s.

No indication so far that they are doing so this time.

President Trump said he had not received any reports of such activity, but

the Americans did strike 16 mine laying vessels overnight.

These were, it seemed, most of them inactive, moored when they were hit, but

apparently a preventive, preventive strike.

And Middle east correspondent Yolande Nel is in Jerusalem.

Yolande, what is Israel saying about the strikes it has been carrying out on Lebanon and Iran?

Well, after a day of some of the heaviest bombardment yet on Iran, yesterday the Israeli forces and American forces working with them kept up their attacks on Tehran overnight, explosions reported there.

The Israeli military saying that it also attacked what it said were command centers for the armed forces in the west of Iran.

And in general, it has been deepening the damage to the regime.

It says millions of Israelis in the center of the country, people living in Jewish settlements in the north of the occupied West Bank.

Here in Jerusalem, people were also woken up by alarms that went off repeatedly in the night to warn of incoming rockets from Iran.

We heard the thuds of loud interceptions overhead.

But that does really underline how the Iranian government has still got this military capability, is still able to fire ballistic missiles at the direction of Israel and with that, incoming fire continue to come from Iran.

Yolanda, how is public opinion being shaped by the concern continuation of this war?

Yeah, it does come as something of a surprise that, you know, there's so much disruption to normal life here.

People sent off rushing to their shelters several times in the course of the day.

Yesterday and today in the north of Israel, there is an ongoing fighting with Hezbollah.

So there is the risk there of, of drones incoming and missiles, people going to their air raid shelters frequently because of that.

But the public support for Israel's war with Iran does remain very high.

That is because people see Iran as having been something like an existential threat.

That is what, you know, the polls indicate when it comes to Jewish Israelis in particular.

And they want this war to deal with the ballistic missile threat from Iran, its nuclear program and also its support for proxies around the region in particular.

But that said the Israeli media reporting today that while you still have these comments from the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu in particular, who was posting on X late yesterday, calling on the people of Iran to overthrow their religious leadership and gain their freedom, he said, we will pass the torch to you.

Well, the the Israeli media commenting that really it's seen now by Israeli officials that it is much less likely that regime change will come about directly as a result of the US And Israeli joint action in Iran.

And instead what is really being focused on in the target list of the Israeli military is going after the military and governing capabilities of the Iranian leadership.

Well, from Israel to Lebanon, I've been speaking to Leena Sinjab who's in Beirut, and

she's been telling us where what it's been like with those strikes by Israel from the last few hours.

Well, I woke up in the early hours of the morning around 5am to the sound of the attack apparently coming from a vessel because it was really loud coming here from the seaside.

The attack took place in Aisha Bakar neighborhood, which is, you know, up the hill from where I live.

And we can see the pictures of the aftermath.

At least three apartments, three stories were targeted.

The Israeli media saying that it was targeting Islamic Group.

Four members were hit, but we don't have any confirmation yet about that.

But these kind of attacks in central city, in residential areas away from Hezbollah's stronghold are sending, you know, waves of fear among the Lebanese.

And this is the second time in a course of a week an attack happens in central Beirut.

A few days ago, also very close to where I live and where I'm standing now at the seaside, a hotel, a five, you know, five star hotel was hit by the seaside.

Israel said they were targeting Revolutionary Guards member.

And yesterday the Iranians came out to announce that, you know, four diplomats were killed.

You know, as much as this is causing anger against the Israelis with more attacks on civilians, 500 have been killed so far, 700,000 are displaced and most of them are, you know, out in the streets in shelters or living in tents with nowhere to go to.

But it's also causing anger against Hezbollah and the Iranians, A, for firing rockets against Israel, causing this whole war and B, staying among civilians which is prompting target targeted attacks against, you know, civilians who have nothing to do with this war and paying the highest Price in this war.

And the difficulties caused, Lena, by the movement of such a large number of people.

I mean, we have, these are the figures registered as displays, but

it may be more because people, some people stay with their families or are able to check into five star hotels and stay there or even left the country as a whole.

But the question is for many is when is this ending?

This is the second time Lebanese are forced, forced to be displaced, forced to leave towns and villages and homes.

And because of the war 15 months ago in 2024, they've lived exactly the same experience.

And many of them who've lost their homes, they couldn't rebuild them because there was no money to reconstruct or rebuild.

And now they're losing their homes again in towns and villages with fears that, you know, in the south of Lebanon, the areas that Israel are asking people to leave and evacuate probably is going to be a buffer zone and they will not be able to go back to.

And the government so far, despite criticism to Hezbollah and, you know, calling for direct negotiations with the Israelis, they seem to be in a very weak position and unable to control Hezbollah's actions that are prompting these kind of attacks by Israel.

Let's go back to those reports that drones have fallen near Dubai International Airport, injuring a number of people.

Let's talk to our correspondent Nick Beak in D. Nick, just tell us what you know, Karin.

Yes, this is information that's coming from the authorities here in Dubai saying that at the main international airport there have been two drones that fell in the vicinity of the airport.

We don't know what that translates to, how near these drones were to hitting any planes or hitting terminal buildings.

But certainly we spoke to someone earlier who is saying that about half an hour or so they were told to come away from glass windows and all passengers were congregating in an area that was deemed to be more safe and less at risk.

the information is that four people have been injured, one person with moderate injuries, that's the description.