DUBAI, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Several Gulf Arab states said they were targeted by Iranian missiles on Saturday after Tehran pledged to retaliate against strikes by the United States and Israel, bringing conflict to a part of the Arab world that prides itself on relative safety.

State media in the United Arab Emirates said one person had been killed in Abu Dhabi, but gave no details.

Kuwait, Qatar, the UAE, and Jordan, all of which have a U.S. military presence, said they had intercepted the Iranian missiles.

BRUSSELS, Feb 28 (Reuters) - NATO is closely following developments in Iran and the region, NATOspokesperson Allison Hart said on Saturday.

(Reporting by Lili Bayer, Editing by Charlotte Van Campenhout)

By Parisa Hafezi

DUBAI, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Long queues formed at gas stations and many Iranians began heading out of cities in search of safety, witnesses said, as an attack by the United States and Israel on Iran spread fear and panic throughout the country.

Explosions rocked Tehran and columns of smoke rose into the sky on Saturday morning, shaking the city at the start of the Iranian working week. One man, speaking to Reuters from the capital, said he was rushing to get his children from school.

The biggest disruption to global air transport since the Covid pandemic continued Sunday, with thousands of flights affected and busy Middle Eastern hubs including Dubai and Doha shuttered as Iran lashed out after US-Israeli strikes.

Israel and Iran traded new attacks Sunday, after Tehran hit both the Dubai International Airport -- the world's busiest for international traffic -- and Kuwait's main airport during its retaliatory strikes one day earlier.

MOSCOW, Feb 28 (Reuters) - The Russian Ministry of Transport said on Saturday that Russian air carriers had suspended flights to Iran and Israel.

Israel said it launched a pre-emptive attack against Iran on Saturday, pushing the Middle East into a renewed military confrontation and further dimming hopes for a diplomatic solution to Tehran's long-running nuclear dispute with the West.

Iranian state television confirmed the death of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Sunday, after US President Donald Trump said he had been killed.

The announcement came after the United States and Israel started launching waves of strikes Saturday against targets in Iran, sparking swift retaliation by the Islamic republic.

Here are the latest developments.

- Iran leader killed -

Iranian state television reported Khamenei's death in the early hours of Sunday, broadcasting archive images with a black banner.

ATHENS, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Greece's shipping ministry advised Greek-flagged vessels on Saturday to exercise maximum vigilance and avoid the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz following strikes by the United States and Israel against Iran, according to an advisory seen by Reuters.

WASHINGTON, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine are monitoring the U.S. operation in Iran from President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, where Trump is currently located, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.

(Reporting by Phil Stewart in Washington; editing by Scott Malone)

LONDON, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Britain said on Saturday that Iran must never be allowed to develop nuclear weapons and stood ready to defend its interests, following strikes by the United States and Israel against Iran.

A government source said Britain had not taken part in the strikes, and that British Prime Minister Keir Starmer would hold an emergency response meeting, a so-called COBRA meeting, on Saturday.

Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei, whose death was confirmed by state media on Sunday, was a pillar of the country's theocratic system since the Islamic revolution and saw off multiple crises over the decades, remaining defiant to the very end.

US President Donald Trump posted on his Truth Social site that "Khamenei, one of the most evil people in history, is dead" after the United States and Israel launched a massive wave of strikes targeting sites across Iran, including the supreme leader's Tehran compound.