Oil Tanker With 15 Indian Crew Members Hit Off Oman Coast

Muscat, Oman :  An Oman port and an oil tanker off its coast were attacked Sunday, official media said, marking the first strikes on the sultanate -- which mediated US-Iran talks -- since Tehran launched a retaliation campaign.

On Sunday morning, AFP correspondents also heard blasts in Dubai, Doha and Manama, with explosionss heard later in Riyadh as Iran presses its second day of attacks in response to US and Israeli strikes that killed the country's supreme leader and other top officials.

Iran's continued Gulf bombardment has raised fears of a wider conflict and rattled a region long seen as a haven of peace and security in the turbulent Middle East.

"A security source reported that the commercial port of Duqm was targeted by two drones," the Oman News Agency said in a social media post.

"One drone struck a mobile workers' accommodation, injuring one foreign worker, while debris from the other landed near fuel tanks, causing no casualties or material damage," it added.

Shortly after, Oman said an oil tanker was targeted off the coast. Its crew was evacuated and four of them were injured, the news agency reported.

The second day of strikes comes on the heels of deadly attacks, with two civilians killed in the UAE capital Abu Dhabi as Iran targeted military bases but also civilian infrastructure across the Gulf on Saturday.

UAE presidential adviser Anwar Gargash on Sunday lashed out at Tehran, calling the attacks on the Gulf states a miscalculation.

"It isolated Iran at a critical juncture. Your war is not with your neighbours," said Gargash.

"Return to reason, to your surroundings, and deal with your neighbours rationally and responsibly before the circle of isolation and escalation widens."

- Hotels become targets -

Across the Gulf, civilian infrastructure has been hit: from airports and sea ports to residential buildings and even hotels.

"The Gulf countries right now are really on the front lines of this brutal war," said Anna Jacobs, a Gulf security analyst.

"Gulf countries, as always, want to support de-escalation and diplomacy... But this commitment and these principles are being put to the test right now," she added.

"If Iran continues to hit these countries and escalates even more, it will be very difficult for them to just sit and do nothing."

Early Sunday, drones struck the airport in Bahrain's capital Manama, causing minor damage, authorities said.

The US embassy in Manama urged citizens to steer clear of hotels in the Bahraini capital, warning they could become potential targets after the Crowne Plaza was hit.

On Saturday in Manama, drones and shrapnel slammed into residential buildings, with video on social media showing smoke and fire erupting from high-rises.

"We advise US citizens in Bahrain that hotels might be a target for future attacks, and encourage US citizens to avoid hotels in Manama," the embassy said in a post on X.

Earlier, an AFP correspondent saw damage at the hotel after hearing explosions.

In the UAE, which has borne the brunt of the attacks, two people were injured when debris from intercepted drones fell on homes in Dubai, authorities said.

And in the capital Abu Dhabi, a woman and child were injured after debris from an intercepted drone collided with a building facade at Etihad Towers, according to the Abu Dhabi Media Office.

- Palm, Burj Al Arab -

On Saturday, Iran fired 137 missiles and 209 drones at targets across the UAE, the defence ministry said, with fires and smoke seen at landmarks such as The Palm seafront development and Burj Al Arab hotel.

At the airport in Abu Dhabi, at least one person was killed and seven wounded during what authorities called an "incident" and another died earlier in the day from falling debris.

Dubai airport, the world's busiest for international traffic, and Kuwait's airport, were also hit.

In Qatar, host of the region's biggest US military base, officials said Iran had launched 65 missiles and 12 drones towards the Gulf state, most of which were intercepted, but eight people were injured, with one in critical condition.

Smoke rose on Saturday from US bases in Abu Dhabi and Manama, home of the American navy's Fifth Fleet, witnesses said, with US bases also targeted in Kuwait.

The oil-and-gas-rich Arab monarchies, lying just across the Gulf from Iran, are long-term American allies and host a clutch of US military bases.