The Israeli army said on Tuesday it conducted “extensive strikes” overnight on military sites in western Iran, while Tehran said hundreds of its drones had “struck strategic targets” as open warfare entered a fifth day.
Israel also claimed to have killed a top Iranian general whom it described as the “most senior military figure in the regime”.
About 20 Iranian ballistic missiles struck Israel in the morning, injuring five people, the Israeli army said. Tehran claimed it had struck a military intelligence centre in Tel Aviv belonging to Mossad, Israel's foreign spy agency. In a statement aired on state television, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said the building was "currently on fire".
Iran also said three people were killed in an attack on the headquarters of the state television channel in the capital on Monday night. The incident forced a presenter for Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting to flee in the middle of her broadcast.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted his campaign against Iran was “changing the face of the Middle East”. He said the military was eliminating Iran's security leadership “one after the other”.
But Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran would not bow to military force. “Our enemies must know that they cannot reach a solution militarily and cannot force the Iranian nation to accept their demands,” he was quoted as saying by state news agency Irna.
Mr Araghchi condemned the attack on the TV station, calling it the “height of cowardice”.
Decades of enmity broke into open conflict on Friday when Israel launched a surprise attack on Iranian nuclear and military sites. Israel says it is acting to prevent Iran from advancing a nuclear weapons programme, which Tehran says it has no intention of doing.
Iran has launched several waves of missiles in retaliation, with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps vowing on Monday night that attacks would continue “without interruption until dawn”.
On Tuesday morning, Iranian Brig Gen Kiomars Heidari, commander of the army's ground troops, was quoted by Irna as saying that drones had destroyed weapons at sites including in Tel Aviv and Haifa overnight. Attacks would intensify in the coming hours, he added.
Rocket warning sirens sounded in the morning across the Tel Aviv area, near Haifa and in the southern Israeli city of Be'er Sheva. Israeli medics said they were searching areas where missiles had reportedly struck.
“A short while ago, sirens sounded in several areas across Israel following the identification of missiles launched from Iran towards the state of Israel,” the Israeli military said. It added that the air force was “operating to intercept and strike where necessary to eliminate the threat”.
Israel's fire service reported a missile hit a car park in the centre of the country, setting an empty bus alight. Medics said five people were injured.
Israel said its strikes overnight into Tuesday hit “surface-to-surface missile storage and launch infrastructure”, while drone storage sites were also struck in western Iran.
It said Maj Gen Ali Shadmani, chief of Iran's armed forces emergency command, was killed in Tehran. He had been in the post only since Friday, after the death of his predecessor, Maj Gen Gholam Ali Rashid.
The Israeli army described Maj Gen Shadmani as “the man closest to” Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran has yet to comment.
Israel has called on 330,000 residents of one neighbourhood in central Tehran to leave the area. The Iranian capital is one of the largest cities in the Middle East, with a population of about 10 million, which is roughly equal to the entire population of Israel.
US President Donald Trump also called on people in Tehran to flee. “Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran,” he said in a post on social media.
On the diplomatic front, the White House said Mr Trump left the G7 summit in Canada a day early due to the crisis in the Middle East, but he later clarified that statement, saying his departure had “nothing to do” with reaching a ceasefire.
French President Emmanuel Macron “mistakenly said that I left the G7 summit, in Canada, to go back to [Washington] DC to work on a 'ceasefire' between Israel and Iran. Wrong!” Mr Trump said on his Truth Social platform.
He then told reporters on board Air Force One before arriving back in the US that he was aiming for a "real end" to the conflict.
"I'm not looking for a ceasefire, we're looking at better than a ceasefire," he said, adding that he wanted a "complete give-up" by Iran.
Mr Macron called on Israel and Iran to end strikes on civilian areas and warned that pushing to overthrow the Tehran regime through force would be a “strategic error”. The G7 nations expressed support for Israel in a statement issued late on Monday and described Iran as a source of instability, while calling for a de-escalation in hostilities.
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
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The specs
Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed
Power: 271 and 409 horsepower
Torque: 385 and 650Nm
Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
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COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Letstango.com
Started: June 2013
Founder: Alex Tchablakian
Based: Dubai
Industry: e-commerce
Initial investment: Dh10 million
Investors: Self-funded
Total customers: 300,000 unique customers every month
The distance learning plan
Spring break will be from March 8 - 19
Public school pupils will undergo distance learning from March 22 - April 2. School hours will be 8.30am to 1.30pm
Staff will be trained in distance learning programmes from March 15 - 19
Teaching hours will be 8am to 2pm during distance learning
Pupils will return to school for normal lessons from April 5
What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
- Cinematography, shots and movement.
- All aspects of post-production.
- Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
- Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
- Tourism industry knowledge.
- Professional ethics.
The bio
Job: Coder, website designer and chief executive, Trinet solutions
School: Year 8 pupil at Elite English School in Abu Hail, Deira
Role Models: Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk
Dream City: San Francisco
Hometown: Dubai
City of birth: Thiruvilla, Kerala
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
Essentials
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct from the UAE to Geneva from Dh2,845 return, including taxes. The flight takes 6 hours.
The package
Clinique La Prairie offers a variety of programmes. A six-night Master Detox costs from 14,900 Swiss francs (Dh57,655), including all food, accommodation and a set schedule of medical consultations and spa treatments.
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