UAE says air defenses engaging missiles, drones from Iran

Blasts and air activity were heard in several Iranian provinces on Saturday, according to eyewitness accounts sent to Iran International.

A heavy explosion was reported at 1:15 p.m. in the Tehranpars area in eastern Tehran, with the blast shaking windows and glass.

Fighter jet sounds were heard at 1:00 p.m. in Chaboksar, in Gilan province in the north.

In Bushehr, in southern Iran, an area near the sixth tactical air base was targeted in an airstrike at about 2:00 p.m.

Bam, in Kerman province in southeastern Iran, was also reported to have been targeted at 11:00 a.m., with air defense activity heard again at around 1:00 p.m.

The Israeli military said it had killed Al-Manar correspondent Ali Shoeib in a strike, describing him as affiliated with Hezbollah’s Radwan Force intelligence unit.

A military spokesperson said Shoeib operated under the cover of journalism while carrying out activities for the group, including reporting on Israeli troop positions in southern Lebanon.

"The terrorist engaged in incitement against IDF forces and Israeli citizens while serving as a conduit for disseminating Hezbollah propaganda. Even during Operation Northern Arrows, he continued his activities and reported on the location of IDF forces operating in southern Lebanon," the statement said.

Lebanese media reported that the strike targeted a car in the southern town of Jezzine and also killed Fatima Ftouni, a reporter with the Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Mayadeen channel.

The Israeli military said on Saturday that search and rescue forces were heading to a site in southern Israel after reports of a missile impact.

The military said both reserve and regular forces were being sent to the area.

Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said on Saturday that missiles destroyed a Ukrainian depot for anti-drone systems in Dubai.

The spokesperson for the headquarters said the depot was being used to support the US military in Dubai.

He added that 21 Ukrainians were present at the site and that their fate was unknown, though they were likely dead.

US forces in the region would face destruction, said the spokesperson for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters on Saturday, adding that Iranian forces had struck two places where American troops were staying in Dubai.

“Trump and the commanders of the US military must have clearly understood that the region will turn into a graveyard for American soldiers,” read the statement.

He further said over 400 US forces were at one location and more than 100 at another in Dubai, and that both sites were targeted by precision missiles and drones launched by the aerospace and naval forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards.