{"id":324829,"date":"2026-03-02T10:51:07","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T10:51:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/324829\/"},"modified":"2026-03-02T10:51:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T10:51:07","slug":"explosions-heard-in-gulf-cities-hundreds-of-flights-cancelled-worldwide-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/324829\/","title":{"rendered":"explosions heard in Gulf cities; hundreds of flights cancelled worldwide \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Main PointsThe US<\/a> and Israel<\/a> are continuing to strike at targets in Iran <\/a>The US said three service members have been killed in action and five \u201cseriously wounded\u201d US president Donald Trump <\/a>says the US military campaign could last weeksIn Iran, the toll from a missile strike on a girls\u2019 school has risen to 165, state media reportedNine people have reportedly been killed in a strike in central IsraelIsrael and Hizbullah <\/a>in Lebanon have been exchanging fire Global oil prices jumped when markets opened on Monday Irish citizens in Gulf region are urged to register with Department of Foreign AffairsKey Reads <\/p>\n

Ronan McGreevy – 37 minutes ago<\/p>\n

What is President Donald Trump\u2019s endgame in Iran? Here our Washington correspondent Keith Duggan gives his assessment in our In the News<\/a> podcast. <\/p>\n

\"MotoristsMotorists block the highway as they flee their villages in southern Lebanon along the coastal road through the city of Sidon on March 2, 2026. (Photo by MAHMOUD ZAYYAT \/ AFP via Getty Images) <\/p>\n

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has said the world must be prepared for the \u201cfallout\u201d of the war, Irish Times Europe correspondent Jack Power reports from Brussels. <\/p>\n

Speaking at a brief press conference this morning, Von der Leyen said Iran had to stop in its \u201cindiscriminate\u201d missile strikes across the Middle East. <\/p>\n

\u201cIn the last hours, we have witnessed numerous attacks, including a drone attack targeting the British air base in Cyprus,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

The German politician, who leads the EU\u2019s executive body, said she condemned in the \u201cstrongest terms\u201d, the \u201cindiscriminate\u201d attacks by Iran and its proxies on other countries in the Gulf region, which followed military strikes of the US and Israel. <\/p>\n

The situation remained volatile, but there was \u201crenewed hope for the oppressed people of Iran\u201d to be able to \u201cdetermine their own future,\u201d the commission president said. <\/p>\n

Ronan McGreevy – 42 minutes ago<\/p>\n

Oil and gas prices surged and global stocks fell on Monday as the widening conflict in the Middle East disrupted energy supplies from the region and threatened to hit the global economy.<\/p>\n

In the first trading session since the US and Israel launched air strikes against Iran on Saturday, Brent crude, the international benchmark, soared as much as 13 per cent. European gas prices jumped 24 per cent.<\/p>\n

Gold rose and global stocks fell, with the Stoxx Europe 600, Europe\u2019s benchmark index, down 1.8 per cent, led by declines in airlines and hotel groups.<\/p>\n

Ronan McGreevy – 1 hour ago<\/p>\n

The Department of Foreign Affairs has issued updated advice to Irish citizens in the Middle East. The advice is here.<\/a> <\/p>\n

I want to provide some important consular & political updates this morning.<\/p>\n

Firstly, we understand that a limited number of commercial flights are scheduled to depart Abu Dhabi Zayed Airport in UAE this afternoon.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Helen McEntee TD (@HMcEntee) March 2, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Physicist Dr Patricia Lewis has said there is no peaceful reason why Iran would want to enrich uranium up to 60 per cent. <\/p>\n

The process of enrichment of uranium is necessary to create the energy needed for nuclear fuel or a nuclear bomb. <\/p>\n

Through the process pure uranium U238 is partially converted into an isotope U235. You only need to enrich it between 3 and 5 per cent for nuclear power, but a threshold of 60 per cent is worrying, she told RT\u00c9 Radio 1\u2019s Today with David McCullagh Show. <\/p>\n

She estimated that Iran has up to 440 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 per cent, enough to make 10 bombs. <\/p>\n

The last time that Iran had a purely peaceful nuclear programme was in 2003, she added. <\/p>\n

Ronan McGreevy – 1 hour ago<\/p>\n

Dublin Airport estimates that between 5,000 and 6,000 passengers are stranded by the unrest in the Middle East at present. <\/p>\n

Twenty-three flights involving Dublin Airport were cancelled over the weekend. <\/p>\n

All flights between the Middle East and Dublin Airport have been cancelled on Monday morning. There are between 12 and 14 flights a day on average to and from Dublin to the Middle East. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou can expect more disruption over the next 48 hours too,\u201d Dublin Airport spokesman Graeme McQueen. He advised passengers to check in with their airlines. <\/p>\n

Ronan McGreevy – 2 hours ago<\/p>\n

The attacks by Iran on Cyprus comes at a time when the country holds the EU presidency. <\/p>\n

An Iranian drone struck RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus around midnight on Sunday morning. Damage was minimal and there were no casualties. <\/p>\n

Nevertheless, it is evidence of the spread of the conflict beyond the Middle East. <\/p>\n

RAF Akrotiri may be the subject of further Iranian attacks because of the decision by the British government to allow the US use its base on the island. <\/p>\n

A meeting of European Affairs Ministers which was due to be held on Tuesday in Cyprus has been cancelled. <\/p>\n

The Minister for European Affairs Thomas Byrne was due to attend the meeting. <\/p>\n

Ronan McGreevy – 2 hours ago<\/p>\n

What happens if Iran has more missiles and drones than interceptors to stop them? <\/p>\n

This report<\/a> in the Wall Street Journal suggests the United States, Israel and its allies in the Middle East are engaged in a race against time. <\/p>\n

Can they destroy Iran\u2019s missile-launching capability before their own stock of interceptors runs out? <\/p>\n

Iran has huge stockpiles of drones and cheaper missiles. The vast majority are intercepted, but what if they keep coming? <\/p>\n

The cost of interception for its enemies is much greater than the cost of launch for Iran.<\/p>\n

Ronan McGreevy – 3 hours ago<\/p>\n

Well-known political scientist Prof Robert Pape said in this blog post<\/a> that the US-Israeli decapitation strategy has not worked. <\/p>\n

He writes: \u201cIran is not a palace dictatorship resting on a handful of men. It is a state of roughly 92 million people, with governing institutions embedded across society. <\/p>\n

\u201cSecurity services and affiliated forces number in the hundreds of thousands to more than a million, depending on how one counts formal and paramilitary components. Roughly one in eight Iranians works for the state or in state-linked institutions. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe regime\u2019s authority is threaded through provincial administrations, economic networks, and local security structures. Removing several dozen senior leaders \u2013 even highly placed ones \u2013 touches only a small fraction of that governing apparatus. It does not dismantle the structure; it activates it.\u201d <\/p>\n

Ronan McGreevy – 3 hours ago<\/p>\n

The conflict has spread to Lebanon with Israel and Hizbullah exchanging fire. <\/p>\n

Israel has used the opportunity presented by the joint US-Israeli attacks on Iran to hit targets in Lebanon used by Hizbullah. <\/p>\n

Hizbullah, a Shia militia, is one of Iran\u2019s many proxies in the region. <\/p>\n

The Lebanese health ministry says at least 31 people have been killed. <\/p>\n

Hizbullah\u2019s stronghold in the southern suburbs of Beirut was targeted. <\/p>\n

In the south of the country, Israel has told people in more than 50 Lebanese villages to evacuate. Israel Defense Forces chief of staff Eyal Zamir said the \u201coffensive campaign\u201d is likely to last several days. <\/p>\n

Ronan McGreevy – 3 hours ago<\/p>\n

Hundreds more flights cancelled in worst travel chaos since Covid <\/p>\n

Hundreds more flights were cancelled today, extending the turmoil in global air travel caused by the US-Israel war on Iran, with hundreds of thousands of passengers already stranded.<\/p>\n

Leading airline stocks came under pressure after days of disruption, with Donald Trump indicating that the US military action could last another four weeks.<\/p>\n

Major Middle Eastern airports, including Dubai \u2013 the world\u2019s busiest international hub \u2013 closed for a third consecutive day amid the most acute aviation shock since the Covid-19 pandemic paralysed the industry.<\/p>\n

Dublin Airport has warned that further disruption is possible over the coming days and has advised passengers to contact their airline. <\/p>\n

A number of flights between Dubai and Dublin were cancelled on Sunday. <\/p>\n

Ronan McGreevy – 3 hours ago<\/p>\n

Death toll rises as strikes continue<\/p>\n

Waves of Israeli and US air strikes hit Iran on Sunday, a day after the killing of supreme leader Ali Khamenei, writes Mark Weiss.<\/a><\/p>\n

Israelis spent the day running to protected spaces as Iran responded with missile barrages, and sirens sounded every few hours across the country. Iran also targeted pro-American Gulf Arab states with missile and drone attacks.<\/p>\n

Sunday\u2019s attacks on Iran focused on headquarters and compounds of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Basij paramilitary force, the bodies primarily responsible for the recent brutal suppression of anti-regime protesters. A video image was released of a drone attack on a Basij motorcycle unit on the streets of Tehran.<\/p>\n

Ronan McGreevy – 3 hours ago<\/p>\n

Iran fires missiles at Israel and Gulf cities<\/p>\n

Loud explosions were heard across the Gulf cities of Dubai, Doha and Manama as well as in Jerusalem this morning as Tehran pressed into a third day of strikes against Israel and Gulf neighbours in response to the US-Israeli attacks.<\/p>\n

Agence France-Presse reported several loud blasts being heard in the Qatari and Bahraini capitals, as well as in the United Arab Emirates\u2019 most populous city.<\/p>\n

The Israeli air force said on X a short while ago that missiles had been launched from Iran towards Israel and defence systems were operating to intercept them.<\/p>\n

The post also said it had directed the public via mobile phones in relevant areas to go to \u201cprotected spaces\u201d and stay until further notice. \u2013 Guardian <\/p>\n