Explosions rocked Dubai's Palm Jumeirah man-made island and drone debris caused a fire at the Burj Al Arab ultra-luxury hotel as waves of Iranian missiles targeted the UAE on Saturday, authorities said.

Dubai airport, the world's busiest for international traffic, and Jebel Ali seaport also suffered damage as the unprecedented attacks hit some of the city's major landmarks and revenue-earners.

Two witnesses on the Palm -- an upscale, palm tree-shaped residential and leisure development -- heard an explosion and saw smoke rising from a five-star hotel.

By Erin Banco

WASHINGTON, Feb 28 (Reuters) - In the run-up to the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Saturday, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency assessed that even if Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the operation, he would likely be replaced by hardline figures from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), two sources briefed on the intelligence said.

By Parisa Hafezi

Feb 28 (Reuters) - Among the first targets in U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran on Saturday was the headquarters of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, an inveterate foe of the West who has crushed internal opposition while supporting proxy forces across the region.

A source with knowledge of the matter said Khamenei had been transferred in advance to a secure location outside Tehran, but Reuters could not immediately verify his status, as satellite images showed significant damage to his Tehran compound.

Feb 28 (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council will meet on Saturday after the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran, plunging the Middle East into a new conflict.

U.N. diplomats said the 15-member body would meet at 4 p.m. local time in New York (2100 GMT). The meeting will be chaired by Britain, which holds the monthly council presidency.

Russia's U.N. mission said Russia and China requested an emergency meeting "in connection with the unprovoked act of armed aggression by the United States and Israel against the Islamic Republic of Iran."

A barrage of Iranian strikes caused havoc across the Gulf on Saturday, shattering the aura of peace so highly prized by the oil-rich region's wealthy rulers.

Missiles streaked across clear desert skies as smoke plumed from US bases in Manama and Abu Dhabi and loud thuds shook high-rise windows in Dubai.

In Qatar, dozens of people fled in panic as a falling missile plunged into a residential neighbourhood, erupting in a fireball as it hit the street.

By Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali

WASHINGTON, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Ahead of the U.S. attack on Iran, President Donald Trump received briefings that not only delivered blunt assessments about the risk of major U.S. casualties but also touted the prospect of a generational shift in the Middle East in favor of U.S. interests, a U.S. official told Reuters.

Feb 28 (Reuters) - Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will speak within minutes, Iran's Al-Alam TV reported, hours after U.S., Israeli strikes targeted top Iranian leaders on Saturday.

(Reporting by Jaidaa Taha and Jana Choukeir, Editing by Nayera Abdallah)

KYIV, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Saturday that the time and place of the next round of peace talks between the U.S., Russia and Ukraine would depend on the security situation in the Middle East and the level of "real diplomatic possibilities".

Zelenskiy said he would issue fresh directives to Ukraine's negotiating team at the talks, without detailing what they were.

On Thursday, he had said the next round of talks would probably take place in Abu Dhabi in early March.

For weeks, Iranians had been nervously anticipating another attack by the United States and Israel, despite Tehran and Washington holding negotiations aimed at averting a violent showdown.

Nevertheless, on Saturday morning just before the strikes, life in Tehran was moving at its usual pace, taxis and buses were inching through mid-morning traffic and people were running errands.

Then the routine was shattered by a series of detonations. Security forces flooded the streets and dark columns of smoke rose near the home of Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Across Israel, city streets stood deserted on Saturday as residents took cover in shelters, while the blasts from Iranian missiles being intercepted reverberated overhead.

It was the second time in under a year that Israelis were undertaking this grim wartime routine, having first fled Iranian missiles during a 12-day war between the arch-foes last June.

The United States and Israel launched a wave of strikes against military targets in Iran on Saturday, sparking a rapid Iranian retaliation towards Israel.