US-Iran war highlights: Over 200 killed, Tehran strikes at Israel, American bases, Dubai, Abu Dhabi stock markets suspended, Suez Canal, Strait of Hormuz disrupted

The U.S. and Israeli attack on Iran killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, triggered retaliatory strikes on multiple countries in the region and is reverberating around the world. Related violence expanded on Sunday to a growing number of places, with a rising death toll. Israeli strikes targeted Tehran. Iran fired drones and missiles at Israel and U.S. military installations around the Gulf, and also at the global business and tourism hub of Dubai. Nearly two dozen people were killed in clashes after protesters tried to storm a U.S. Consulate in Pakistan.



Dubai, Abu Dhabi Stock Markets Closed




The UAE has ​ordered its stock markets closed on Monday and Tuesday as the country reels from Iran's retaliatory missile and drone strikes, in a ‌sign ⁠of the growing ⁠economic disruption sweeping the Gulf. The UAE Capital Markets Authority ​said the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange and Dubai Financial Market would ​remain shut on March 2 and March 3, citing its supervisory and regulatory role over the country's capital ​markets. The UAE's ​two exchanges are home to some of ​the region's most valuable listed companies.

US-Iran War

The joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran, which started Saturday, stoked fears of a wider war and damage to the world economy. Global reaction ranged from jubilation to condemnation. U.S. President Donald Trump urged Iranians to seize the moment and “take over.”


The strikes came two days after the latest U.S.-Iran talks, as Trump pressured Tehran for a deal to constrain its nuclear program. A senior White House official said on Sunday that “new potential leadership” in Iran has suggested they are open for talks with the U.S. and that President Donald Trump says he is “eventually” willing to talk. For now, though, the military operation “continues unabated,” the official said on condition of anonymity to discuss internal administration deliberations.


Iran’s provisional governing council started its work on Sunday, and is expected to name a new supreme leader. Iran’s theocracy has struggled with growing dissent following nationwide protests over the economy that morphed into anti-government ones.


Iranian state media said more than 200 people have been killed. In southern Iran, at least 165 people were killed when a girls’ school was struck, the state-run IRNA news agency reported. The Israeli military said it was not aware of strikes in the area. The U.S. military said it was looking into the reports.

Iran strikes at Israel and US bases

Iran launched retaliatory missiles and drones targeting Israel and nearby Arab Gulf countries hosting U.S. forces. Three U.S. service members have been killed, according to U.S. Central Command.


“You have crossed our red line and must pay the price,” Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, said in a televised address Sunday.


Eleven people have been killed in Israel as loud explosions caused by missile impacts or interceptions could be heard in Tel Aviv. Israel’s rescue services said that nine people were killed and more wounded in a strike that hit a synagogue in the central town of Beit Shemesh.


Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen have vowed to resume attacks on Red Sea shipping routes and on Israel, according to two senior Houthi officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because there was no official announcement from leadership.


US says military force will continue


Trump listed grievances stretching back to the beginning of the Islamic Republic following a revolution in 1979 that turned Iran from one of America’s closest allies in the Middle East into a foe. Iran’s ballistic missile program and support for armed proxies in the region were other issues he cited.


Tensions had escalated in recent weeks as the Trump administration built up the largest force of American warships and aircraft in the Middle East in decades.


Trump said “heavy and pinpoint bombing” in Iran would continue through the week or longer. He told Iranians to take cover, but urged them to later rise up and topple the Islamic leadership. U.S. Democrats are leading efforts to limit Trump’s war powers.


In Tehran Sunday, the streets were largely deserted as people sheltered during heavy airstrikes, witnesses told The Associated Press, speaking anonymously for fear of retribution.


Global Markets Hit


The strikes elicited mixed global reactions, including angry protests, celebrations and calls by world leaders for a return to negotiations and peace.


At least 22 people were killed in clashes with police and paramilitary forces Sunday after hundreds of protesters rushed the U.S. Consulate in the Pakistani port city of Karachi, authorities said.


Shipping companies suspended their vessels’ traffic through the Suez Canal. The strikes could rattle global markets, particularly if Iran makes the Strait of Hormuz unsafe for commercial traffic. A fifth of worldwide traded oil passes through the strait.


There were global repercussions from disrupted air travel in the region, with hundreds of thousands of travelers stranded or diverted to other airports after Israel, Qatar, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait and Bahrain closed their airspace.