- UAE energy hub hit -

Smoke could be seen rising Saturday from the direction of a major United Arab Emirates energy installation, in what appeared to be the latest strike targeting the Gulf's petroleum facilities hours after the US struck Iran's Kharg Island oil hub.

An AFP journalist said clouds of dark black smoke were seen coming from Fujairah, which is home to a major port and oil export terminal where Iranian attacks have already targeted an oil storage and trading hub.

- Tehran warns UAE residents -

Iran's military warned that it considers ports in the UAE to be legitimate targets and urged residents to "evacuate" port areas, in a statement carried by state TV.

Tehran "considers it its legitimate right to defend its national sovereignty and territory by striking American enemy missiles located in ports, docks and US military hideouts", the military's central operational command, Khatam Al-Anbiya, said.

- France thanks Iraq -

President Emmanuel Macron said he had expressed gratitude to the Iraqi prime minister for taking measures to protect French forces, after a drone strike killed a French soldier in Iraq's Kurdistan region.

Arnaud Frion, 42, was killed and six other French soldiers were wounded on Thursday evening in a drone attack in the Erbil region of Iraqi Kurdistan.

Iraq's prime minister has vowed to prevent further attacks.

Macron also Saturday urged Israel to hold "direct talks" with Lebanon and offered to host the meeting in Paris.

- 'Iran oil infrastructure intact' -

Iran's Fars news agency, citing sources on Kharg Island, a crucial hub for Tehran, said there had been no damage to oil facilities after President Donald Trump said US strikes had destroyed only military targets there.

Trump had threatened in a social media post to target oil infrastructure on the island if Tehran continues to block the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

Iran has, in turn, threatened to target US-linked oil infrastructure.

- Israeli strikes -

The Israeli army told people in an industrial zone in the west of Iran's northern city of Tabriz to leave ahead of military operations on Saturday.

"Urgent warning to all people located in the industrial area west of Tabriz," the Israeli military posted on X, adding it would "continue to operate in the area in the coming hours".

Meanwhile, an Israeli strike hit an apartment building in a northern suburb of the Lebanese capital Beirut and targets in the country's south, local media said Saturday.

An overnight Israeli strike killed a dozen medical staff at a clinic in south Lebanon, health authorities said earlier Saturday, after Iran-backed Hezbollah's leader Naim Qassem said his group was ready for a long confrontation with Israel.

Israeli strikes have killed at least 773 people in Lebanon since March 2, according to the health ministry.

- US embassy in Baghdad attacked -

A drone struck the US embassy in Baghdad on Saturday, an Iraqi security official said, as an AFP journalist saw smoke rising from the complex. The attack followed strikes targeting the powerful Iran-backed group Kataeb Hezbollah, killing two members including a "key figure", security sources told AFP.

None of the sources said who was believed to be behind the embassy strikes, and the Kataeb Hezbollah group has not commented.

- Trump says Iran 'defeated' -

US President Donald Trump said Friday that Iran has been "totally defeated" in the US-Israeli military campaign against the country, despite Iranian officials pledging to continue the fight.

"The Fake News Media hates to report how well the United States Military has done against Iran, which is totally defeated and wants a deal - But not a deal that I would accept!" Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, without elaborating.

- Hamas plea -

Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas on Saturday called on Iran to refrain from targeting neighbouring countries, while affirming Tehran's right to defend itself against Israel and the United States.

"While affirming the right of the Islamic Republic of Iran to respond to this aggression by all available means in accordance with international norms and laws, the movement calls on the brothers in Iran to avoid targeting neighbouring countries," Hamas said in a statement.

Hamas, which fought a devastating two-year war with Israel in Gaza, also called on the international community to "work towards halting" the ongoing war immediately.

- Qatar evacuates 'key areas' -

Qatar's interior ministry said Saturday that it was evacuating a number of "key areas" as Iran presses its retaliatory air campaign against Gulf countries.

In Doha's central Musheireb district some residents received phone alerts telling them to "evacuate the area immediately... to the nearest safest place as a temporary precaution".

- Iran targets Israel -

Iran launched a fresh round of missiles towards Israel, state media reported just after midnight on Saturday in Tehran, but Israeli rescue workers said there were no reported casualties following the strikes.

Israel's military said it had identified missiles from Iran and "was operating to intercept the threat," as air raid sirens in multiple areas sent people into shelters.

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