A fresh wave of Iranian attacks on Gulf targets disrupted flights Sunday, prompting temporary airspace closures and reroutings across the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Qatar. Emirates and Etihad Airways continued flying around conflict zones instead of canceling broadly.

The United Arab Emirates temporarily closed its airspace amid reports of explosions over Doha. Electronic jammers were also reportedly activated.

More than 1,500 flights have been affected by the latest escalation. Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi recorded delays and reroutings as air-defense activity and GPS interference complicated flight paths.

The disruption remains uneven. Qatar had reopened to overflights, while Dubai-Tehran services were reported to have resumed from July 1.

Airlines across the region were advised to avoid Iranian and Iraqi airspace through August 31. A previous caution covering Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE was lifted.

The UAE, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan were under threat from missile and drone fire on Sunday. Residents in Qatar and Kuwait reported loud explosions as Patriot systems intercepted incoming drones.

Qatar reported 3 people injured, including one child, by falling shrapnel in Doha. In Jordan, three missiles landed in civilian areas, although damage was limited.

Gulf airspace stayed open in some corridors as airlines cut individual routes

The renewed strikes on July 7-8 did not immediately produce new Gulf-wide closures. Most Gulf flight-information regions remained open to overflights, including those covering the UAE and Qatar.

That left airlines with different operating choices. Some continued service using longer routes, while others suspended flights for weeks or months.

The UAE’s two major carriers continued normal operations by avoiding areas considered unsafe. That strategy kept flights moving but introduced delays and longer routings.

Gulf governments called the strikes violations of sovereignty and international law

The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the attacks as a “flagrant violation” of sovereignty and a “threat to security and stability.” H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the country’s deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs, coordinated with regional counterparts on the security implications.

Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs described the strikes as a “blatant breach of international law” and held Tehran “fully legally responsible.”

Oman summoned Iranian Ambassador Mousa Fereidoun (Farhang) and delivered a formal note expressing “profound dismay at these irresponsible acts.” Oman has traditionally served as a neutral mediator in the region.

India’s Ministry of External Affairs also addressed the maritime danger near Oman. Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal called the situation “deeply worrisome.”

A container ship attack added maritime risk near Musandam

The Cyprus-flagged container ship GFS Galaxy was attacked 4.4 nautical miles off the coast of Musandam. 23 crew members were rescued, but one Indian national remained missing.

The incident extended the disruption beyond airports. U.S. Central Command said its forces had begun additional strikes against Iran to degrade its ability to attack civilian mariners and commercial ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

“U.S. Central Command forces began launching more strikes against Iran to continue degrading their ability to attack civilian mariners and commercial ships freely transiting the Strait of Hormuz.”

Iran claimed the strait was “closed until further notice” on July 12. The United States and the E3, comprising the United Kingdom, France and Germany, maintained that commercial traffic continued under military protection.

GPS spoofing and jamming across the Persian Gulf reached what aviation experts described as “unprecedented” levels. Pilots were forced to rely on radar vectors and manual navigation when satellite signals became unreliable.

U.S. strikes and Iranian warnings kept the escalation moving

U.S. Central Command launched a third round of strikes at 5:00 PM ET Sunday, targeting 140 Iranian military sites. The three-night total rose to over 300 targets hit.

The strikes followed intensive U.S. bombing campaigns against targets on the Iranian mainland. The conflict began on February 28, 2026, after nuclear negotiations broke down.

A temporary ceasefire, known as the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, was signed on June 17, 2026. Renewed hostilities between July 7 and July 9 effectively ended that pause.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf posted on X on July 12:

“The era of one-sided deals is OVER. We told you: keep your word or pay the price. Reality is knocking.”

Mojtaba Khamenei vowed that “vengeance is the will of our nation” after the death of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, earlier in the conflict.

President Donald Trump said: “We're beating them up. We bombed the hell out of them last night.”

The next route decisions will depend on diplomacy and security alerts

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaydi is scheduled to visit Washington on July 13 in an effort to salvage the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding and discuss oil and gas security.

Oil prices surged after the IRGC claimed it would continue strikes until the “end of U.S. interference” in the region.

Airline decisions remain route-specific. Dubai and Doha services do not share one timetable, with cancellations and suspensions extending through August 31, October 2 and October 24 for different carriers.

The aviation network therefore faces continuing changes even where flight-information regions remain open. The listed suspension dates give travelers the clearest immediate deadlines: KLM’s Dubai cancellations run through August 23, while Finnair’s Doha suspension runs until October 2.