I'm ABC global affairs editor Laura Tingle, and I'm in Dubai, stranded like many other Australians by the shutdown of airspace across the Middle East.
While I'm here, I'm going to give you daily updates to help you quickly understand what's going on.
Here's what you need to know today:
- Iran has been escalating its missile attacks on Gulf States to pressure US President Donald Trump by causing massive disruption to the global economy's pressure points and air travel.
- Israel has responded to the decision of the Iran-backed militia group Hezbollah in Lebanon to launch attacks on Israel with missile attacks on Beirut, and by making huge incursions to claim control over large tracts of Southern Lebanon.
- Limited flights have started from airports in the Gulf to move some of the estimated hundreds of thousands of people stranded by the closure of airspace on Saturday. That number includes an estimated 100,000 people from the UK, 400,000 from France and 90,000 from Italy. Foreign Minister Penny Wong has said there are more than 24,000 Australians in the region.
What's the fallout?
You have probably heard about "massive barrages" of missiles and drones pouring down on Gulf States, like the United Arab Emirates, from Iran. The numbers do sound pretty staggering. For example, the UAE Ministry of Defence spokesperson reported late on Tuesday that "since the beginning of the Iranian aggression, the UAE's air defences have dealt with 186 ballistic missiles and 812 drones".
For the tens of thousands of Australians trapped in the UAE cities of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, that sounds pretty scary. So far, though, the country's air defence systems — like surface-to-air missiles — have destroyed the vast majority of these weapons, and the damage has been quite minimal, given the amount of weaponry involved.
Here in Dubai, you can hear the odd "bang" when one of the incoming projectiles is destroyed in the sky. But over the past couple of days, there have been only one or two plumes of smoke seen here and there.
A lot of the damage — and some of the casualties — have been ascribed to debris falling from downed missiles. The nagging concern, however, here in Dubai is whether there are sufficient supplies of these air defence missiles and systems to maintain that level of defence if Iran continues its relentless campaign. Things could get pretty nasty if the drone supply starts to run down.
If you want more today, try this …
- ABC News Daily: How long will the war last? US President Donald Trump says a month or longer, "whatever it takes". This morning's podcast now explains why experts believe ??.
And here's how to stay up to date with the latest:
In developing news, Donald Trump has said this morning that the US Navy will begin escorting ships through the Strait of Hormuz "if necessary", after Iran closed access as part of its initial response to the conflict and threatened to attack any vessel attempting to pass through.
You can keep track of the latest updates from Iran and around the world throughout the day via our live blog.
Thanks for joining me. I'll see you at the same time tomorrow.
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