Gulf countries and Israel came under missile fire and Israeli forces struck Iran's nuclear sites on Saturday as the Middle East conflict raged into a second month with Washington expressing hopes for progress in talks with Tehran.

In a sign that the conflict may be expanding further, Israel's military said air defences responded to a missile launched from Yemen – the first since the start of the war on February 28 and after threats from Iran's Houthi allies to launch attacks.

The conflict, which began a month ago to the day, showed no sign of ending, with Israel announcing fresh strikes on Tehran and reports of around 10 intense blasts and a plume of black smoke.

Emirati authorities said debris from a missile interception started fires at an Abu Dhabi industrial zone, injuring five Indian nationals.

Saudi Arabia said it had intercepted a missile and several drones, and Bahrain said a blaze caused by the "Iranian aggression" had been brought under control.

In Israel, repeated air raid sirens sent people to shelters, including in Tel Aviv where a man was killed and two others wounded, and in the country's north, where media reported a simultaneous attack from Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah.

An Iranian missile and drone attack on the Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia wounded at least 12 American soldiers, two of them seriously, according to The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, citing unidentified officials.

G7 foreign ministers, meeting near Paris, expressed the "absolute necessity to permanently restore safe and toll-free freedom of navigation" in the Strait of Hormuz, which has been in a state of near closure as a result of Iranian and called for "an immediate cessation of attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure".

While US President Donald Trump has extended his deadline for Tehran to reopen the strait or face attacks on energy assets to April 6, Iranian media reported strikes on Friday on three Iranian nuclear facilities and two steel plants, with officials saying there was no radioactive release.

Israel confirmed it had struck the Khondab heavy water complex and a uranium processing plant in Ardakan, while the UN nuclear watchdog said Iran had informed it of another strike on the Bushehr nuclear power plant.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi threatened retaliation "for Israeli crimes" in a post on X, saying the attacks contradicted Trump's "extended deadline for diplomacy" while the country's Revolutionary Guards warned they would strike industrial sites across the region, having earlier issued similar warnings for US military bases and hotels hosting American troops.

Yemen's Houthi rebels had warned on Friday they would join the war if US-Israeli attacks on ally Iran continued or if more countries joined the conflict.

The Houthis have in the past attacked shipping in the Red Sea in response to regional conflicts, but had so far not intervened in the latest war. "We affirm that our fingers are on the trigger for direct military intervention," the group said in a statement. (AFP)



Edited by Thomas McAlinden