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Luxury Dubai hotel hit as Iran launches retaliatory strikes across region

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Luxury Dubai hotel hit as Iran launches retaliatory strikes across region

A luxury hotel in Dubai has been hit amid a wave of Iranian missile and drone strikes across the Middle East, launched in retaliation for what Tehran described as a “massive” and ongoing US-Israeli attack on its territory.

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Video verified by the BBC showed a fire tearing through the Fairmont The Palm on Saturday, with thick black smoke rising above the Palm Jumeirah waterfront in the Dubai.

Local officials said four people were injured in a blaze at a building in the Palm Jumeirah area but provided no further details. It was not immediately clear whether the hotel was directly struck or damaged by falling debris from an intercepted missile or drone.

In the early hours of Sunday, the Dubai Media Office said four people were also wounded in an “incident” at Dubai International Airport, one of the world’s busiest transport hubs. The airport’s concourse sustained “minor damage”, officials said, without elaborating.

Missiles intercepted across Gulf states

Elsewhere in the region, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait — all of which host US military facilities — said they had intercepted missiles fired towards them.

Huge plumes of black smoke were seen rising near the headquarters of the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet in Manama, Bahrain. The base, officially known as Naval Support Activity Bahrain, serves as a key logistical and operational hub for US naval forces in the Gulf.

Authorities in Bahrain confirmed the area had been targeted. Video from Manama showed a drone striking a tower block, erupting into a bright yellow fireball on impact.

Bahrain’s Ministry of Interior later said three buildings in Manama and Muharraq were hit by “drone attacks and falling debris from an intercepted missile”. Fires at one building had been brought under control, while damage assessments were under way at the other two sites.

The United States has not yet publicly commented on the reported strike near its naval facility.

Al Udeid base targeted in Qatar

In Doha, Qatar’s defence ministry said it had intercepted several missiles apparently targeting Al Udeid Air Base, the largest US military base in the region.

Explosions were seen in the sky above the capital, and footage circulating online showed residents running from a falling projectile in a residential area.

Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned what it described as the “targeting of Qatari territory with Iranian ballistic missiles”, calling it “a flagrant violation of its national sovereignty” and an “unacceptable escalation”.

The US maintains around 13 military bases across the Middle East, with between 30,000 and 40,000 troops typically deployed across the region.

Kuwait and Iraq incidents

In Kuwait, the state news agency Kuna reported that a drone targeting the international airport caused “minor injuries to several employees” and “limited” damage to a terminal building.

Explosions were also heard in parts of the country, though officials said air defences had intercepted incoming threats.

In Iraq, US air defences shot down a drone over a military base near Erbil, according to Reuters.

Iran claims responsibility

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said in a statement that it was targeting US bases and assets as part of “Operation Truthful Promise 4”, describing the strikes as retaliation for attacks launched earlier on Saturday by the United States and Israel.

That earlier offensive, which began at approximately 09:30 Tehran time (06:00 GMT), reportedly targeted sites linked to Iran’s leadership and military infrastructure.

US President Donald Trump has publicly backed the strikes on Iran and has urged the Iranian people to rise up against the country’s leadership.

As missile interceptions and airspace alerts continued into Sunday, authorities across the Gulf remained on high alert amid fears of further escalation in what is rapidly becoming one of the most direct regional confrontations in years.

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  Adapted by ASEAN Now · Source · 28 Feb 2026


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4 minutes ago, unblocktheplanet said:

Good reason to close US bases. No other country has military bases overseas, why should the US?

To react fast to any situations. Protecting shipping lanes. From Wiki............The establishment of military bases abroad enables a country to project power, e.g., to conduct expeditionary warfare, and thereby to influence events abroad. Depending on their size and infrastructure, they can be used as staging areas or for logistical, communications, and intelligence support. Many conflicts throughout modern history have resulted in overseas military bases being established in large numbers by world powers, and these bases have helped the countries that have established them to achieve political and military goals........................good reasons to keep them open..

Excellent reasons to close them! Interfering with countries' sovereignty and self-determination, setting the stage to incite wars. Waddya think 'expeditionary warfare' is? Instigation, by any means necessary. Right, 'staging areas', a nicey term for preparing for war. (See instigation above.) The <deleted> US should stay at home and take care of its own fragile state of affairs there.

America should close the bases and use that money to fix the US--it's badly broken, in case you didn't notice.

Tell me which other 'world powers' (meaning nuclear tipped, I presume) have overseas bases. In particular, where are the US' rivals' bases: China, Russia, for example.

800 US bases are nothing short of naked imperialism.

4 minutes ago, unblocktheplanet said:

Excellent reasons to close them! Interfering with countries' sovereignty and self-determination, setting the stage to incite wars. Waddya think 'expeditionary warfare' is? Instigation, by any means necessary. Right, 'staging areas', a nicey term for preparing for war. (See instigation above.) The <deleted> US should stay at home and take care of its own fragile state of affairs there.

America should close the bases and use that money to fix the US--it's badly broken, in case you didn't notice.

Tell me which other 'world powers' (meaning nuclear tipped, I presume) have overseas bases. In particular, where are the US' rivals' bases: China, Russia, for example.

800 US bases are nothing short of naked imperialism.

UK: Gibraltar, Cyprus, Bahrain, UAE, Singapore, Nepal, Oman, Qatar, Kenya, Canada, Brunei, Ascension Island, Australia, Belize, Germany, Estonia, Poland, Norway

France: Germany, Dijbouti, French West Indies, French Polynesia, Reunion, New Caledonia, UAE, Gabon, French Guiana

China: Dijbouti, Cambodia, Tajikistan

Russian: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Krgyzstan, Tajikistan, Syria, Libya, CAR, Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali, Equitorial Guinea, Occupied Ukraine, Japan, Georgia, Moldova, Sudan

India: Bhutan, Madagascar, Maldives, Oman, Mauritius, Nepal, Seychelles, Sri Lanka

6 hours ago, unblocktheplanet said:

No other country has military bases overseas

You sure about that? 😄

2 hours ago, Roadsternut said:

UK: Gibraltar, Cyprus, Bahrain, UAE, Singapore, Nepal, Oman, Qatar, Kenya, Canada, Brunei, Ascension Island, Australia, Belize, Germany, Estonia, Poland, Norway

France: Germany, Dijbouti, French West Indies, French Polynesia, Reunion, New Caledonia, UAE, Gabon, French Guiana

China: Dijbouti, Cambodia, Tajikistan

Russian: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Krgyzstan, Tajikistan, Syria, Libya, CAR, Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali, Equitorial Guinea, Occupied Ukraine, Japan, Georgia, Moldova, Sudan

India: Bhutan, Madagascar, Maldives, Oman, Mauritius, Nepal, Seychelles, Sri Lanka

Thanks. Are any of these 'enemies', Axis of Evil to quote Dubya? Sure slightly less than 800, too. In many cases above, you are talking about countries having a 'presence' in third countries' military structure, perhaps a battalion or a division or even just an elite team in the case of Nepal and perhaps others.

I'll research a bit more before I swallow the whole hog.

Regardless of what I find, out, the US should set a good example for a peaceful world and stay the <deleted> at home.

2 minutes ago, unblocktheplanet said:

Thanks. Are any of these 'enemies', Axis of Evil to quote Dubya? Sure slightly less than 800, too. In many cases above, you are talking about countries having a 'presence' in third countries' military structure, perhaps a battalion or a division or even just an elite team in the case of Nepal and perhaps others.

I'll research a bit more before I swallow the whole hog.

Regardless of what I find, out, the US should set a good example for a peaceful world and stay the <deleted> at home.

France has extremely substantial presence in its overseas Departments and Francophone allies. British bases in Eastern Europe, Bahrain, Cyprus, and Singapore are all about prepositioning assets.

Britain doesn't keep an "elite" team in Nepal. It provides a recruitment and welfare hub. You made that up out of ignorance. Nepal has never been a British possession, but India and the UK both recruit there.

Maybe you think China and Russia countries'' allied to the US; I am aghast at your ignorance in this respect. You requested a listing of nuclear powers. I could also add Pakistan which maintains a presence in Saudi Arabia.

19 hours ago, unblocktheplanet said:

Thanks. Are any of these 'enemies', Axis of Evil to quote Dubya? Sure slightly less than 800, too. In many cases above, you are talking about countries having a 'presence' in third countries' military structure, perhaps a battalion or a division or even just an elite team in the case of Nepal and perhaps others.

I'll research a bit more before I swallow the whole hog.

Regardless of what I find, out, the US should set a good example for a peaceful world and stay the <deleted> at home.

I bear in mind you may have quite a different standard for what constitutes an overseas military base. Although the Wikipedia entry tells us there are 142 UK military facilities around the world, there appear to be only two actual bases. Does a single battalion constitute a base? I don't think so.

Garrisons, companies, battalions are not 'bases'. A lot of countries seem to like Sheik Djibouti.

In contrast, the US maintains ~750 military bases overseas in 80 countries, ~243,000 personnel. Quite a spread with the UK.

N.B. Check mark indicates genuine, functioning military base.

Australia

NOPE Malaysia: battalion & training

NOPE UAE, air unit

MAYBE LATER Philippines: access to air bases

MAYBE LATER Papua New Guinea, naval air station

MAYBE LATER Singapore, brief mention by PM

Bangladesh

NOPE Kuwait, military contingent

China

MAYBE LATER Cambodia: potential naval base

NOPE Djibouti, support base

NOPE Tajikistan, support base

France:  6-10k military personnel abroad

√ French Guiana, French territory

√ Réunion & Mayotte, French territory

√ New Caledonia, French territory

√ French West Indies,  French territory

√ French Polynesia, French territory

Germany, Dijbouti, French West Indies, French Polynesia, Reunion, New Caledonia, UAE, Gabon, French Guiana

N.B. All these are in France. Luckily for Canada, they haven’t got to St. Pierre & Miquelon yet.

NOPE Djibouti, waiting for war

NOPE United Arb Emirates, waiting for war

NOPE Gabon, waiting for war

NOPE Germany, waiting for war (NATO)

Germany

NOPE France: battalion

NOPE Lithuania: brigade

Greece

NOPE Cyprus: Hellenic Force

India

NOPE Bhutan: training team & detachment

NOPE Madagascar, listening post & radar

NOPE Mauritius: airfield

NOPE Seychelles: coastal surveillance

NOPE Sri Lanka: costal surveillance

NOPE Nepal: monitor air threats

Israel

NOPE Syria: Golan Heights Occupied Areas, camps

NOPE Azerbaijan: helicopter search & rescue, F-35 jets

Italy

NOPE Djibouti: forward base

NOPE Niger: support bases

Japan

NOPE Djibouti: Japan SDF

Pakistan

NOPE Saudi Arabia: 180 personnel, training & ‘advisors’

Poland:

NOPE Bosnia & Herzwgovina: 60 personnel

NOPE Iraq: 350 training personnel

NOPE Italy: 80 personnel air team

NOPE Kosovo: 250 soldiers

NOPE Latvia: 320 personnel tank company

NOPE Romania: 300 in motorised infantry

NOPE Turkey: 95 personnel & 4 drones

Russia

√ Armenia: military & airbase

NOPE Belarus: radar station

? Burkina Faso

NOPE Central African Republic: training unit

√ Georgia: 2 bases in occupied territories

? Kazakhstan

NOPE Kyrgyzstan, navel communications & torpedo testing

? Mali

NOPE Moldova: Transnistria ammunition depot

NOPE Niger: Secured abandoned US bases

? Syria

√ Tajikstan

Singapore

NOPE Brunei

NOPE Thailand

Turkey

NOPE Albania: 24 soldiers & 2 boats

NOPE Bosnia & Herzegovina: 242 former peacekeepers

MAYBE LATER Chad

√ Northern Cyprus: 24-35K soldiers in territory disputed with Greece

√ Iraq: In disputed territories with Kurdistan, 5-10k soldiers, ~60 tanks, personnel carriers, commando battalion, 40+ military & intelligence units

NOPE Kosovo: security battalion & peacekeepers

NOPE Libya

√ Qatar: 5k personnel

√ Somalia: 2k personnel

? Sudan: Suakin Island

√Syria: 11,400 troops, 114 bases, 250 tanks

United Arab Emirates

√ Libya: forward operating unit

United Kingdom

NOPE UK: Ascension Island, air staging post & signals intelligence US)

NOPE UK: Australia, nuke submarine

NOPE UK: Bahrain, vessels

NOPE UK: Belize, jungle warfare training

NOPE UK: British Indian Ocean Territory, piggyback on US at Diego Garcia, small British garrison

NOPE UK: Brunei, one Gurkha battalion, jungle warfare traing

NOPE UK: Canada, armoured warfare training

NOPE UK: Cyprus, forward base & two garrisons

NOPE UK: Estonia, 900 infantry (NATO)

NOPE UK: Falklands, forward base & 1k Brit soldiers

NOPE UK: Germany, amphibious squadron and alpine training

√ UK: Gibraltar, a British territory

NOPE UK: Kenya, training unit & humanitarian aid

NOPE UK: Nepal, recruitment of Gurkhas

NOPE UK: Normay, 1k naval personnel

NOPE UK: Oman, logistics support & training, dry dock for carriers and submarines

NOPE UK: Qatar, air outpost

NOPE UK: Singapore, Royal Navy repair & logistics support

MAYBE UK: United Arab Emirates, maybe, “extensive” facility at UAE airbase

United States

Say no more, rest of world. The only competition in oversea bases is Turkey, followed by Russia.

As you can see, most countries stay at home, with only a small number of military personnel abroad.

My question is, what’s in it for the hosts in sovereign countries? Do the foreign bases give some sense of security from invasion or benefit the economy?

I think they're aggressive, just waiting for wars to break out so they can use their lethal training. Keep the money at home to benefit people living in peace.

19 hours ago, unblocktheplanet said:

Thanks. Are any of these 'enemies', Axis of Evil to quote Dubya? Sure slightly less than 800, too. In many cases above, you are talking about countries having a 'presence' in third countries' military structure, perhaps a battalion or a division or even just an elite team in the case of Nepal and perhaps others.

I'll research a bit more before I swallow the whole hog.

You need a stomach pump at this point. 

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