A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Iran is retaliating against the U.S., targeting its Arab neighbors where U.S. troops are based. The U.S. military says four American troops have been killed. They were part of a ground support team in Kuwait.
LEILA FADEL, HOST:
The countries hit include Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan, and even Oman, which had been mediating nuclear talks.
MARTÍNEZ: We're joined now by NPR international correspondent Aya Batrawy in Dubai.
So tell us what it's been like where you are.
AYA BATRAWY, BYLINE: Yeah. So here in Dubai, my apartment rattled with the sound of loud booms on Saturday. To say that this was unexpected is an understatement. Dubai is billed as a safe haven, a luxury destination, and it's never been targeted by missiles like this before. But drones have also been launched by Iran and its neighbors. I want you to have a listen to what that sounded like in Bahrain, where a drone struck a residential building there over the weekend.
(SOUNDBITE OF DRONE STRIKE)
MARTÍNEZ: Wow.
BATRAWY: So that was one of several verified videos online of that one attack. And, you know, despite these hits, the numbers of casualties have actually been very low at this point, with most drones and missiles intercepted. But this morning, Kuwait's defense ministry says several U.S. war planes crashed and that crews were safe after ejecting, but the circumstances around that are still unclear. And this comes after three U.S. troops, as you heard already, were killed and five seriously wounded as part of a ground support team in Kuwait over the weekend.
And Iran's missiles also got through defenses and they hit an airbase in Qatar where there are thousands of U.S. troops and hit the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, according to state media there. But I also want to say that civilian areas have suffered. You're talking about luxury hotels in Dubai and across the Gulf and seaports. That is how this region imports the bulk of its food. But Dubai's airport, which is the world's busiest for international transit, connecting Europe to Asia and Africa, was also struck by a drone and flights there remain suspended now since Saturday. So this war has engulfed the region.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah, it really has. And another overnight development was the Iran-backed Hezbollah group getting involved. Tell us what's happening in Lebanon.
BATRAWY: So, you know, there was a ceasefire there for about the last 15 months. Although Israel would continue to strike, Hezbollah had not struck back. However, all of that changed last night. Israel says a few rockets and drones were launched, landing in open spaces. Now, that's in response to the Israel killing the supreme leader of Iran. Now, the military ordered 50 villages in Lebanon and in southern suburbs of Beirut to be evacuated. And then airstrikes pounded those areas in Lebanon, killing more than 30 people already and wounding 150, according to Lebanon's health ministry. NPR's producer in Beirut, Jawad Rizkallah, spoke with families fleeing to school shelters with their kids and lugging mattress. Of course, this is all happening in Ramadan as people are fasting, and everyone who spoke to said they were exhausted, that the scene is being repeated again.
MARTÍNEZ: So, OK, a lot unfolding as we speak. What can we expect there going forward?
BATRAWY: All right. So if Gulf Arab states continue to get hit, they have said that they reserve the right to strike back to defend their national security. So that could happen, and that would obviously widen the scope of this war dramatically. Also we've heard the U.K., France and Germany saying they will take steps to defend their interests and those of their allies in the region. And some of those interests are about oil. You know, Saudi Arabia says one of its largest oil refineries was targeted today by Iranian drones, sparking a fire and temporarily shutting down production there. We've already seen oil prices spiking today on trading. You know, the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf, that narrow shipping lane, where a fifth of the world's oil passes from the Gulf to China and India and beyond, has effectively been shut down since Saturday - shipping insurance firms are concerned about naval attacks. So the scale of the fallout of this war really depends on how long the U.S. and Israel continue this war.
MARTÍNEZ: That's NPR international correspondent Aya Batrawy in Dubai. Thank you very much.
BATRAWY: Thank you, A. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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