March 3 (Reuters) - Here are statistics released by Gulf defence ministries on drones and missiles that Iran has fired at their territories since the start of the U.S.-Israeli air war against Iran:

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES:

Ballistic missiles:

Drones:

QATAR

Ballistic missiles:

Drones:

Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei's death is "historically significant" but will not "automatically" lead to the fall of the Iranian system, the widow of the country's last shah told AFP in an interview Tuesday.

"The passing of a man -- however central he may be to the architecture of power -- does not automatically mean the end of a system," said Farah Pahlavi, three days after US-Israeli strikes on Iran killed Khamenei.

KYIV, March 3 (Reuters) - Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy discussed Iranian strikes with United Arab Emirates President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani.

Ukraine has great expertise in countering drones and missiles, honed over four years facing waves of Russian attacks.

"We discussed how we can help in this situation and support the protection of lives. It was agreed that our teams will work on this," Zelenskiy said on X after a call with the UAE leader.

The Ukrainian leader expressed solidarity with both nations.

WASHINGTON, March 3 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the U.S. military had been successful against many Iranian naval and air targets, saying "just about everything has been knocked out."

He made his comments in the Oval Office ahead of a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

Trump, answering questions from reporters, said he ordered the attack against Iran because "I had a feeling" that Iran would attack the United States as negotiations over its nuclear program stalled.

President Donald Trump said Tuesday the US Navy was ready to escort oil tankers through a crucial Gulf shipping route, as he justified his war on Iran by saying he believed Tehran was about to strike first.

Trump has given often conflicting explanations for the joint US-Israeli attack on Iran, while the president who once campaigned to end to America's Middle Eastern wars has set out no firm endgame.

Iran once boasted that it controlled four Arab capitals: Baghdad, Damascus, Beirut and Sanaa in an alliance dubbed the "Axis of Resistance".

But the network -- long used as a regional force against Israel -- has been weakened since the Gaza war and now risks collapse, upending the regional balance, analysts said.

"The axis of resistance is over," said Atlantic Council researcher Nicholas Blanford.

Two days after Hamas launched its October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country's response would "change the Middle East".

LONDON, March 3 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Tuesday that Britain was sending helicopters with counter-drone capabilities to Cyprus, and was deploying the air defence destroyer naval vessel HMS Dragon to the region.

(Reporting by Sam Tabahriti; editing by William James)

By Ben Makori and Sam Tabahriti

LONDON, March 3 (Reuters) - A British couple jailed in Iran have described explosions shaking Evin prison where they are being held and damage to their wing as the conflict intensifies around Tehran, their son told Reuters after speaking to them on Tuesday.

Joe Bennett, who is in regular contact with his mother, Lindsay Foreman, has reported worsening conditions inside the facility as bombing continues in the capital for a fourth day.

Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei's death is "historically significant" but will not "automatically" lead to the fall of the Iranian system, the widow of the country's last shah told AFP in an interview Tuesday.

"The passing of a man -- however central he may be to the architecture of power -- does not automatically mean the end of a system," said Farah Pahlavi, three days after US-Israeli strikes on the Islamic republic killed Khamenei.

Governments and airlines scrambled Tuesday to repatriate tens of thousands of travellers stranded in the Middle East following the eruption of a regional conflict sparked by Israel-US strikes on Iran.

Countries across the region shut their airspace as Iran retaliated against US allies, Qatar saying it had blocked an attack on its airport, one of the major hubs in the region.