Security concerns affected regional travel Sunday, with Gulf News reporting delays and cancellations on some routes connecting the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with Saudi Arabia and other regional destinations. Carriers had changed their schedules in response.
The Saudi-led coalition said Saudi air defenses intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles launched toward Riyadh by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi group. Gulf News also reported explosions in the Saudi capital.
Gulf News said a distress call brought the UAE National Guard's Coast Guard Division to a cargo ship fire in the Sea of Oman. After the evacuation, the 22 Arab crew members received first aid and were transferred to authorities. The outlet described their condition as stable.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Sunday that Israel's operation against Iran remained unfinished. He renewed Israel's allegation that Tehran is pursuing nuclear weapons, a claim Iran has repeatedly denied.
Iranian state media said Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei rejected expectations that U.S. midterm results would shift Washington's stance toward Tehran. Iran's Armed Forces spokesman Brig. Gen. Abolfazl Shekarchi said a mix of U.S. military pressure and political action had not weakened Iran.
Gulf News reported a response from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC): spokesman Hossein Mohebi called a U.S. plan to extend trade restrictions across Iranian land borders and the Caspian Sea “wordplay.”
Iranian official Abbas-Ali Kadkhodaei used a meeting in Tehran to call for quicker maritime development and closer coordination across government. He characterized the Strait of Hormuz as a source of Iranian influence in international affairs, Gulf News reported.
Gulf News said diplomatic efforts to end the conflict continued, while differences over Iran's nuclear program, compensation, frozen assets and sanctions remained unresolved. The outlet advised residents to rely on UAE government updates and local authority instructions, avoid circulating unconfirmed reports, and get flight details from their airline before setting out. An earlier EconoTimes report also covered uncertainty over UAE-Saudi routes.
