This video grab taken from images released by the Iranian state broadcaster (IRIB) on March 26, 2026, shows what it says is the second phase of the 82nd wave of missiles launched against Israel and US bases in the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait. The US president warned Iran on March 26, to engage in talks to end the Middle East war “before it is too late”, after Tehran publicly spurned US overtures to resolve the nearly four-week conflict. On February 28, Israel and the United States launched strikes on Iran killing its supreme leader and triggering a war that spread across the Middle East and unleashed chaos across global markets and sent oil prices soaring. (Photo by IRIB TV / AFP) / – Israel OUT / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE – MANDATORY CREDIT AFP – SOURCE: IRIB – NO MARKETING – NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS – DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS – NO RESALE – NO ACCESS ISRAEL MEDIA/PERSIAN LANGUAGE TV STATIONS OUTSIDE IRAN/ STRICTLY NO ACCESS BBC PERSIAN/ VOA PERSIAN/ MANOTO-1 TV/ IRAN INTERNATIONAL/RADIO FARDA – AFP IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DIGITAL ALTERATIONS TO THE PICTURE’S EDITORIAL CONTENT =====Attention editors: AFP covers the war in the Middle East through its extensive regional network, including bureaus in Tehran, Jerusalem, and several neighboring countries. Since the start of the conflict, journalists have been working under increasingly restrictive conditions. Authorities in several countries have limited reporters’ movements, photo and live video coverage from sensitive locations. Some governments and armed groups have banned images of missile or drone strikes and other security-related sites. /
Iran’s military has warned that hotels housing US soldiers across the region would be targets in its war with the United States and Israel.
“When all the Americans (forces) go into a hotel, then from our perspective that hotel becomes American,” armed forces spokesman Abolfazl Shekarchi told state television on Thursday.
“Should we just stand by and let the Americans strike us? When we respond, naturally we have to strike wherever they are.”
On February 28, Israel and the United States launched strikes on Iran, killing its supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and triggering a war that spread across the Middle East.
The war has since spread across the Middle East, with Iran responding with drone and missile attacks on Israel and US interests in the region.
On Thursday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had accused US soldiers of using people in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries as “human shields”.
“From the outset of this war, US soldiers fled military bases in the GCC to hide in hotels and offices,” he said in a post on X, calling on hotels in the region to deny them bookings.
The Fars news agency, quoting unnamed sources, said Iran had sent “firm warnings” to hotels in the region, particularly in the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.
It added that Iran’s military had identified US forces using similar locations in Syria, Lebanon and Djibouti.
Iran accuses its neighbours of allowing US forces to carry out attacks from their territory, but Gulf states have repeatedly denied the accusations, saying even before the war that they would not allow their territory or airspace to be used to attack Iran.
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