A fire has broken out near the entrance of a world famous Dubai hotel during an Iranian missile strike, social media footage appears to show, as the Tehran regimes carries out retaliatory strikes following a series of US and Israeli attacks.
Footage verified by The Independent shows the moment a missile struck outside the Fairmont The Palm hotel in Dubai’s prestige Palm Jumeirah area.
Explosions have been heard in Bahrain, the UAE, Jordan and Qatar after the Iranian regime warned it would retaliate to any strikes by the US and Israeli – which were launched last night.
When The Independent tried to contact the hotel, there was no answer.
Iranian state media has reported dozens of deaths across the country following the US-Israeli strikes, which came after months of threats from US president Donald Trump.
This includes at least 53 people who were reportedly killed at a girls’ school. Tehran authorities said 15 people were killed in a sports hall in the Fars province.
One person has been killed as a result of falling debris in Abu Dhabi, while sirens are sounding across Israel with citizens warned to take shelter.
Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu launched co-ordinated strikes across Iran in what they described as a “preventative attack”.
President Donald Trump confirmed a “major combat operation” in an eight-minute speech, stating Iran could never have a nuclear weapon and adding: “It’s been mass terror, and we’re not going to take it any longer.”
Witnesses said they heard the blasts in the Iranian capital, while footage appears to show columns of smoke rising above the city.
Iran and Israel have closed their airspace, while officials in Tehran said their supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been transferred to a secure location.
More follows on this breaking news story…
