Morocco joined other Arab nations in condemning Iran for striking Gulf states.
Morocco is one of four countries to normalize ties with Israel in 2020 under the Trump-brokered Abraham Accords
The North African kingdom’s foreign ministry said in a statement that it decried “the abject Iranian missile attack that violated the integrity and security of brotherly Arab states.”
Iran has targeted United States assets across the Gulf Arab states in retaliation for the by the US and Israel, as the region’s worst fears of being ignited in the flames of a sustained war loom.
The Iranian government on Saturday confirmed its attacks on several targets, according to the Fars news agency, including Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, where airbases with US assets are hosted.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed all Israeli and US military targets in the Middle East have been struck “by the powerful blows of Iranian missiles”.
“This operation will continue relentlessly until the enemy is decisively defeated,” it said. All US assets throughout the region are considered legitimate targets for Iran’s army, it added.
Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Hamid Ghanbari told Al Jazeera that Iran has the right to defend itself and regrets any humanitarian loss caused by the current military escalation.
At least one person was killed in Abu Dhabi, the UAE capital, after several missiles launched from Iran were intercepted, according to the country’s state news agency.
Bahrain said a missile attack targeted the headquarters of the US Navy’s 5th Fleet, which it hosts.
The government called it a “treacherous attack” and “a blatant violation of the kingdom’s sovereignty and security”.
Kuwait’s Defense Ministry said that Ali al-Salem Air Base came under attack by a number of ballistic missiles, all of which were intercepted by Kuwaiti air defense systems.
In Qatar, the Defence Ministry says it “thwarted” several attacks on the country.
“The Ministry of Defense confirms that the threat was dealt with immediately upon detection, in accordance with the pre-approved security plan, and that all missiles were intercepted before reaching Qatari territory,” it said.
A statement by the Saudi Foreign Ministry confirmed that Iran targeted Riyadh and the kingdom’s eastern region, adding that the attacks were repelled.
“These attacks cannot be justified under any pretext or in any way, and they came despite the Iranian authorities knowing that the Kingdom had confirmed that it would not allow its airspace and territory to be used to target Iran,” it added.
Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and the UAE all temporarily closed their airspace and condemned Iran’s attacks on their territories.
An Al Jazeera correspondent reported that Erbil Airport in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq was targeted twice on Saturday. A drone attack attempted to target Erbil International Airport, but air defences intercepted and shot it down, they added.
Syrian state media reported that an Iranian missile explosion killed four people and injured numerous others in an industrial area of the Druze stronghold of Sweida.
AP/ Al Jazeera
