Israel-Iran conflict escalates as strikes, drone attack disrupt Gulf air traffic
On the 17th day of the Middle East war, Israel resumed broad airstrikes against Tehran, Iran’s capital, while Tehran launched missiles and drones in retaliation. The fighting also disrupted Gulf air traffic after a drone attack near Dubai International Airport caused a fuel-tank fire and briefly halted flights, according to AFP and The New York Times.
The Israeli military said it struck more than 200 targets inside Iran over the prior 24 hours, focusing on facilities tied to Iran’s ballistic-missile program and its air-defense and early-warning networks in the country’s central and western regions.
Iran conducted counterattacks with missiles and drones as part of the response, and Tehran’s fire prompted evacuation advisories in parts of Israel. The New York Times reported that the evacuation orders were lifted within about 30 minutes and that, aside from a few injuries during evacuation, there were no confirmed casualties from those moves.
Israel also targeted Hezbollah forces in southern Beirut’s outskirts, widening the regional envelope of the conflict. Lebanese authorities have put the Lebanese death toll linked to the Israeli strikes at about 850.
IDF spokesperson Efi Defrin told CNN that thousands of Iranian targets remain and that the campaign could continue for about three weeks, with new targets identified daily as the fighting unfolds.
Israeli officials say they have struck more than 1,700 Iranian military assets and destroyed around 100 air-defense systems and 120 early‑warning or detection facilities, giving Israel apparent air-superiority over large parts of Iranian airspace, according to the IDF.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said the war has seen it fire roughly 700 missiles and 3,600 drones toward U.S. and Israeli targets since fighting began, underscoring the scale of Iran’s counteroffensive.
In the early hours of the conflict, a drone attack near Dubai’s airport area caused a fuel-tank fire and temporarily disrupted flights, highlighting how the confrontation is affecting civil aviation and regional security beyond the immediate battlegrounds.
US President Donald Trump said, speaking from his private plane, that Washington has been in discussions with Iran but that he believes Tehran is not yet ready for talks to end the conflict. Iran’s foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, later told CBS that Iran sees no reason to engage in dialogue with the United States and that it will defend itself as needed.
The clash between the United States, Israel and Iran carries implications far beyond the region. For the United States, the conflict risks further instability in energy markets and Gulf shipping lanes, potential disruption to global supply chains, and heightened security commitments among U.S. allies in Europe and Asia. Markets and technology firms could face indirect volatility as sanctions, sanctions-related activity, or shifting regional alliances evolve in response to the escalating confrontation.