Foreign Workers Killed, Flights Halted and Cities on Edge as Middle East War Spreads Across Gulf Nations
The battlefield and blowback are widening beyond Iran and Israel into Gulf states and key energy and shipping corridors. Iran and Iranian-backed militias fired missiles at Israel and Arab states on Monday, with an apparent strike hitting the U.S. Embassy compound in Kuwait as smoke was seen from inside the embassy area and Washington issued an urgent warning to Americans there to take cover and avoid the embassy.
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| Representational Image; Via United States Central Command |
These attacks followed earlier regional disruptions that have already forced civil aviation shutdowns and reroutes; Dubai’s government said flights from Dubai International (DXB) and Al Maktoum (DWC) would resume only on a limited basis, and airlines including Emirates and Etihad launched limited flights after halting operations.
Against the same backdrop, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth defended the Iran operation, saying Tehran had stalled during negotiations and arguing the strikes are meant to reduce Iran’s navy and end its nuclear and missile ambitions, while also declining to specify an endgame or rule out further escalation.
President Donald Trump said the United States has “the capability to go far longer” than a projected four-to-five-week timeline for military operations against Iran, framing the expanding campaign as an open-ended effort as U.S. and Israeli forces continue large-scale strikes and Tehran and its allies intensify retaliation across the region.
Speaking during a Medal of Honor ceremony, Trump described ongoing “large-scale combat operations” aimed at destroying Iran’s missile capabilities, dismantling its naval power and preventing what he called the world’s top state sponsor of terror from obtaining a nuclear weapon, while also acknowledging that four American service members have been killed in action since the operation began.
Trump said the administration had projected weeks for the campaign but claimed key goals, including the decapitation of Iran’s military leadership, were achieved far faster than expected, adding that the U.S. military can sustain the operation “whatever it takes.”
For civilians, the war’s “regionalization” is no longer abstract. It is increasingly visible in evacuation notices, empty streets and the vulnerability of migrant workers who form much of the Gulf’s labor force.
Israel’s closure of crossings into Gaza has stretched food stocks, pushed up prices and halted municipal services like solid waste collection, with reduced water production leaving some in Gaza City drinking as little as two liters a day, according to the U.N.’s humanitarian office tracking Gaza.
In Lebanon, Hezbollah’s missile fire into Israel—its first claimed strike in more than a year—triggered Israeli airstrikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs and other areas, with Lebanon’s Health Ministry reporting at least 31 killed and 149 wounded; the U.S. Embassy in Beirut urged Americans to leave immediately while commercial flights remain available, saying the security situation is volatile and consular services are suspended.
Across the Gulf, the reported fatalities from Iranian strikes have been foreign nationals—workers from South and Southeast Asia—underscoring how a conflict driven by state and militia decisions is landing hardest on people with the least protection as missile defenses engage over major cities, supply chains strain, and leaders on both sides signal the campaign could continue “as long as it takes.”