Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: “If I didn’t hit them first, they were going to hit our allies first. I believe upon information and belief,” US President Donald Trump told reporters, before adding, “They were going to take over the Middle East.”

“Upon information and belief” is a phrase commonly used in legal contexts, including affidavits. It is generally used to indicate that a statement is based on secondhand information but is still believed to be true by the person making it.

Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: Iran’s Mehr news agency reported that a US missile struck a school in the central city of Khomeyn.

The report identified the location as Dr Hafez Khomeni School and said several residential houses near the building were damaged.

There was no immediate information about casualties.

The report came as calls continue for an investigation into a United States missile strike on a girls’ school in the city of Minab in southern Iran that killed at least 170 people, most of them young students.

Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: Iran fired drones early Tuesday towards Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

The Saudi Defence Ministry said two drones were destroyed over the kingdom’s oil-rich eastern region.

In Kuwait, the National Guard said it shot down six drones that were targeting the country’s northern and southern areas.

Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: A 29-year-old Bahraini woman died and eight others were injured after an Iranian attack struck a residential building in the capital, Manama, according to the Gulf country’s Ministry of Interior.

Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: More than 40,000 flights across Middle East countries have been cancelled so far because of the ongoing regional military conflict, The Khaleej Times reported.

According to data shared by aviation analytics company Cirium, more than 72,000 flights had been scheduled to operate in and out of the Middle East. Of these, more than 40,000 flights were cancelled between February 28 and March 9.

Airlines in the United Arab Emirates and other Gulf countries that were affected by Iranian missiles and drones have partly resumed operations after suspending flights for several days.

Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: The government is considering options to escort Indian-flagged vessels out of the crisis-hit Strait of Hormuz region as tensions between the US-Israel alliance and Iran disrupt maritime traffic through one of the world’s most critical oil routes, a senior maritime regulator said on Monday.

The ships are complying with enhanced safety protocols, including more frequent reporting to authorities.

Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: The United Arab Emirates condemned what it described as an “unprovoked terrorist drone attack” that targeted the UAE Consulate General in Iraq’s Kurdistan region. The strike caused material damage, but no injuries were reported, the UAE ministry of foreign affairs said.

The ministry urged the Iraqi government and the authorities in Iraq’s Kurdistan region to investigate the circumstances surrounding the attack.

Targeting diplomatic missions and their premises is “a flagrant violation of international norms and laws, particularly the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations,” the ministry statement read.

Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: The US-Israeli war on Iran has sent oil prices surging, upending global travel and sparking fears of a deep travel slump and the potential for the widespread grounding of planes.

Air New Zealand said on Tuesday it has raised fares due to the Middle East conflict and may take further pricing action, underscoring how global airlines will seek to pass on the costs of higher oil prices to passengers.

While air fares have spiked on Asia-Europe routes due to airspace closures and capacity constraints, Air New Zealand is one of the first airlines to announce broad increases to ticket prices since the start of the war.

Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: Kuwait’s emir has condemned Iran’s attacks on the country, saying, “Our country has been subjected to a brutal attack by a neighbouring Muslim country, which we consider a friend, even though we have not permitted the use of our land, airspace, or coasts for any military action against it, and we have repeatedly informed them of this through our diplomatic channels.”

In a speech, Sheikh Meshal al-Ahmad al-Sabah also said Kuwait has a “full and inherent right to self-defence”. It was his first public remarks since Iran’s attacks began on February 28.

Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he spoke by phone with Qatar’s emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and expressed his “solidarity with Qatar in the face of Iranian missile and drone attacks”.

Carney also said he thanked Qatar’s emir “for working to ensure the safety of Canadians in Qatar and working with Canada to secure transportation options for Canadians wishing to leave the country”.

Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said Doha will resume full energy supplies once conditions in the region return to normal, the foreign ministry said on Monday.

“We remain firmly committed to our clients and the stability of global energy markets, but current circumstances, including attacks on our facilities and challenges to maritime navigation in the Gulf, necessitate temporary measures to protect the safety of personnel working on our energy infrastructure,” said the prime minister, who also serves as foreign minister.

Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said any Arab or European country that expels the ambassadors of Israel and the US from its territory will have full authority and freedom to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian state media reported on Monday.

The crisis ​in the ​Middle East has halted shipping ‌and ⁠energy exports through the vital Strait of ​Hormuz, which carries roughly a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas flows.

Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: The United Arab Emirates (UAE)’s National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority (NCEMA) said the emergency alert sound sent to residents’ phones will change during night hours.

The loud alarm currently used will continue during the day. However, between 10.30pm and 9am, emergency alerts will come with the same sound used for text messages.

Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: President Donald Trump said Monday that US military operations in Iran would be ending soon, reassuring markets that have been thrust into chaos by a war still reverberating across the Middle East.

“It’s going to be ended soon, and if it starts up again they’ll be hit even harder,” Trump told a news conference in Florida, after telling lawmakers that the campaign would be a “short-term excursion.”

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards replied Tuesday that they, not the Americans, would “determine the end of the war”.

Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: Australia will deploy a surveillance aircraft to the Middle East and provide the UAE with advanced air-to-air missiles to defend against Iranian attacks and keep local airspace open in order to help stranded Australians return home.

The UAE alone has shot down more than 1,500 rockets and drones since Iran began targeting states around the Persian Gulf, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Defense Minister Richard Marles said in a statement. The rising wave of dangerous and destabilizing attacks puts civilians at risk, they said.

“What this aircraft will be doing is very similar to the role that it has played in recent times from Poland in respect of the defense of Ukraine,” Marles said. Australia will supply the UAE with Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles.

Dubai Abu Dhabi news LIVE: The United Arab Emirates said on Tuesday that a drone strike targeted its consulate general in Iraqi Kurdistan, causing damage to the building but leaving no casualties.

A statement from the foreign ministry said the attack “represents a dangerous escalation and a threat to regional security and stability”, and added that “targeting diplomatic missions and premises constitutes a flagrant violation of all international norms and laws”.

The statement did not specify where the drone was launched from. It also urged local authorities to “investigate the circumstances of this attack to identify those responsible”.