Israel declares sustained airbridge over Tehran; Iranian missiles rain on Gulf

states — Qatar intercepts two waves
Tehran / Doha / Tel Aviv — The Middle East plunged deeper into open warfare on Sunday as Israel announced it would maintain a continuous air campaign over Tehran while Iran escalated its retaliation by targeting US military bases across the Gulf and striking civilian infrastructure in multiple countries.
Israel’s sustained air campaign:
Israel announced a fresh wave of strikes “in the heart of Tehran,” with officials indicating the operation — codenamed Roaring Lion — would continue throughout the week, establishing what amounts to a sustained aerial corridor to target leadership compounds, military installations, and strategic assets across the Iranian capital.  (RTÉ)
Iran’s sweeping retaliation:
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps declared it had launched attacks against 27 US military bases across the Middle East as well as Israeli military facilities in Tel Aviv.  (The Times of Israel) About 12 hours after the initial US-Israeli strikes, the US military reported no American casualties and minimal damage at US bases despite what it described as “hundreds of Iranian missile and drone attacks.”  (NPR)
Qatar intercepts missiles:
Qatar’s Defence Ministry confirmed it had successfully intercepted two separate waves of Iranian missile attacks, with no casualties or property damage reported.  (RTÉ) Qatar’s foreign ministry strongly condemned the strikes as a flagrant violation of its national sovereignty and a direct assault on civilian security, reserving its full right to respond under international law.  (Wikipedia)
Gulf states under fire:
The UAE detected 165 ballistic missiles — destroying 152 — and intercepted 506 out of 541 Iranian drones. One person was killed by falling debris in Abu Dhabi.  (The Times of Israel) An Iranian Shahed drone struck the Fairmont Hotel on Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah. Kuwait International Airport sustained damage from a drone strike, injuring several airport staff. Kuwait’s Ali Al-Salem Air Base was also hit, wounding three soldiers.  (CNN)
Casualties in Israel:
Nine Israelis were killed when an Iranian ballistic missile made direct impact in Beit Shemesh. Sirens sounded continuously over Haifa and Tel Aviv as Israel’s multi-layered air defence — Iron Dome, David’s Sling, Arrow systems and US-supplied THAAD batteries — worked to intercept successive missile waves.  (The Times of Israel)
Iran clarifies limits:
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Al Jazeera that Tehran has no intention of closing the Strait of Hormuz “at this stage” and does not plan to disrupt regional navigation, adding: “We are not attacking our brothers in the Persian Gulf — we are attacking American targets.”  (The Times of Israel)
The strikes have already begun disrupting global oil markets, with concerns mounting over the Strait of Hormuz, through which a third of the world’s seaborne oil exports passed in 2025. Israel, Qatar, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait and Bahrain have all closed their airspace, with major airlines canceling hundreds of flights across the region.  (NPR)